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Thomas  Chittenden 

The  first  governor  of  Vermont 


7-1. 


HISTORY  OF   VERMONT 


BY 


EDWARD   DAY   COLLINS,  Ph.D. 

Formerly  Instructor  in  History  in 
Vale  University 


WITH    GEOLOGICAL    AND    GEOGRAPHICAL 

NOTES,  BIBLIOGRAPHY,  CHRONOLOGY, 

MAPS,   AND    ILLUSTRATIONS 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 
GINN   &   COMPANY,   PUBLISHERS 

1903 


Copyright,  1903,  by 
EDWARD  DAY   COLLINS 

ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


/' 


PREFACE 

The  charm  of  romance  surrounds  the  discovery,  explo- 
ration, and  settlement  of  Vermont.  The  early  records 
of  the  state  offer  an  exceptional  field  for  the  study  of 
social  groups  placed  in  altogether  primitive  and  almost 
isolated  conditions  ;  while  in  political  organization  this 
commonwealth  illustrates  the  development  of  a  truly 
organic  unity.  The  state  was  for  fourteen  years  an 
independent  republic,  prosperous  and  well  administered. 

This  book  is  an  attempt  to  portray  the  conditions  of 
life  in  this  state  since  its  discovery  by  white  men,  and 
to  indicate  what  the  essential  features  of  its  social,  eco- 
nomic, and  political  development  have  been.  It  is  an 
attempt,  furthermore,  to  do  this  in  such  a  way  as  to 
furnish  those  who  are  placed  under  legal  requirement 
to  give  instruction  in  the  history  of  the  state  an  oppor- 
tunity to  comply  with  the  spirit  as  well  as  with  the  letter 
of  the  law. 

Instruction  in  state  history  rests  on  a  perfectly  sound 
pedagogical  and  historical  basis.  It  only  demands  that 
the  same  facilities  be  afforded  in  the  way  of  texts,  biblio- 
graphical aids,  and  statistical  data,  as  are  demanded  in 
any  other  field  of  historical  work,  and  that  the  most 
approved  methods  of  study  and  teaching  be  followed. 
Indeed,  in  certain  respects  state  history  offers  a  superior 
field  for  instruction  in  the  public  schools.  It  affords 
the  student  an  opportunity  to  study  at  first  hand  the 


development  of  those  institutions  winch  arc  to  dcr 
the  activities  and  interests  of  his  maturer  life.  T 
institutions  are  state  rather  than  national. 

Furthermore,  in  the  interplay  of  local  and  fe< 
politics  state  history  illustrates  the  evolution  of 
essential  relations  between  local  institutions  and 
central  government.  It  is  thus  a  direct  preparatio: 
the  study  of  civics  and  national  history.  It  cert 
is  pragmatic  to  acquaint  students  with  the  genes 
the  social,  economic,  and  political  conditions  in  v 
they  find  themselves  placed  and  forced  to  act ; 
this  is  quite  in  touch  with  the  trend  of  the  pr< 
educational  movement. 

The  rapidly  changing  conception  of  what  hi; 
really  is  applies,  of  course,  to  this  department  of 
torical  study  as  to  any  other.  These  green  hills 
fertile  valleys  would  have  been  peopled  and  tille 
men  of  essentially  the  same  fiber  if  Ethan  Allen 
not  succeeded  in  his  audacious  attempt  on  Ticonde: 
if  Stark  had  not  won  a  brilliant  victory  at  Bennin 
or  if  Macdonough  had  not  been  successful  in  a  : 
battle  off  Cumberland  Head.  While  the  political 
tiny  of  the  state  may  have  been  shaped  to  some  d< 
by  military  events,  the  social  and  industrial  orgc 
tion  within  the  body  politic  has  developed  essen 
unchanged  thereby.  From  this  point  of  view  rm 
events  necessarily  play  a  relatively  unimportant 
and  industrial  activities  a  relatively  important  one 

To  those  who  may  use  this  book  for  instruction  ; 


PREFACE  vil 

made  to  limit  the  scope  of  the  work  to  the  requirements  of 
any  one  grade.  It  has  been  left  to  the  teacher  to  deter- 
mine in  each  case  the  possibilities  of  his  own  classes. 
The  work  indicated  in  the  map  exercises  on  page  280 
should  always  precede  the  study  of  the  narrative.  The 
source  extracts  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapters  and  in 
the  text  illustrate  the  kind  of  material  from  which  his- 
tory is  written,  and  provide  means  for  further  analytical 
study.  Constructive  ability  may  best  be  developed  by 
individual  research  and  reports  on  topics  of  local  interest. 
The  statistical  tables  will  furnish  material  for  both  ana- 
lytical and  constructive  work  of  a  still  different  nature 
on  the  plan  illustrated  on  pages  211,  212,  215,  and  espe- 
cially 221-223.  The  pupils  should  always  be  required 
to  study  the  maps  and  illustrations  in  connection  with 
the  narrative. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  a  special  indebtedness  to  Pro- 
fessor George  H.  Perkins  for  suggestions  on  the  archae- 
ological portions  of  the  history  ;  to  Hon.  G.  G.  Benedict 
for  a  similar  service  on  the  portions  dealing  with  the 
military  history  of  the  state  during  the  Civil  War  ;  and  to 
Mr.  F.  D.  Nichols  for  his  efforts  in  securing  the  illustra- 
tions by  which  the  volume  is  so  materially  enriched. 

Barton  Landing,  .  E.  D.  COLLINS. 

Sept.  16,  1903. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


CrfAPTER  Page 

I.  The  Strength  of  the  Hills i 

II.  The  French  and  Indian  Wars       ....  13 

HI.  The  Widening  Trail 38 

IV.  The  Debatable  Land        ......  66 

V.  The  American  Revolution 90 

VI.  The  Gods  of  the  Hills            11 1 

VII.  An  Independent  Republic 120 

VIII.  From  the  Revolution  to  the  War  of  181 2        .  140 

IX.  The  War  of  1812 172 

X.  From  the  War  of  1812  to  the  Civil  War          .  192 

XI.  The  Civil  War 234 

XII.    From  the  Civil  War  to  the  Spanish  War        .  255 


APPENDIX 

PART    I 

GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  NOTES 

Geographical  Notes:  Mountains,  Rivers,  Lakes  and  Ponds, 

Counties  ....;.....       273 

Geological  Notes  :  Metals  and  Minerals  and  their  Distribution       278 

PART    II 

FOR    REFERENCE    AND    FURTHER    STUDY 

Map  Exercises 280 

List  of  Maps 281 

I.    Vermont    at    the    Close    of    the    French   and    Indian 

Wars     ........  facing         40 

II.    Early  Map  of  New  Hampshire,  soon  after  the  Erection 

of  Fort  Dummer      .......         69 

ix 


x  CONTENTS 

List  «>k  Maps — continued  Pagr 

III.  The  First  Political  Division  of  Vermont  ...  74 

IV.  Vermont  at  the  Close  of  the  Revolution       .        facing  122 
V.    Railroad  Map  of  Vermont                                             "  220 

VI.    Geographical  Map  of  Vermont     ...             "  273 

VII.    Township  Map  of  Vermont,  in  colors        .                  "  301 

Topics 282 

Bibliographical  Note 286 

Chronological  Table 289 

PART    III 
STATISTICAL    TABLES 

Tarle  A.  New  York  Land  Grants  in  Vermont  .         .         .  296 

B.  Governors  of  Vermont 297 

C.  Congressional  Districts  and  Senators  in  Congress    .  298 

D.  Population  of  the  State  by  Decades  from  the  First 

Census 299 

E.  Population  of  the  State  by  Counties  from  the  First 

Census .  300 

F.  Population  of  the  State  by  Towns  in  1900     .         .  301 

G.  Growth  of  Manufactures  in  Vermont  since  1850  305 
H.    Farms,  Acreage,  and  Values  of  Farm  Property  since 

1850 305 

I.    Agricultural  Products  in  1850 306 

J.    Leading  Manufactures 307 

I.    In  1840. 

II.    In  i860. 

III.  In  1870. 

IV.  In  1880. 
V.    In  1890. 

VI.    In  1900. 
Index 311 


HISTORY  OF   VERMONT 

CHAPTER    I 

THE    STRENGTH    OF    THE    HILLS 

Continuing  our  route  along  the  west  side  of  the  lake,  contemplat- 
ing the  country,  I  saw  on  the  east  side  very  high  mountains,  capped 
with  snow.  I  asked  the  Indians  if  those  parts  were  inhabited.  They 
answered  me  yes,  and  that  they  were  Iroquois,  and  there  were  in  those 
parts  beautiful  valleys  and  fields  fertile  in  corn  as  good  as  any  I  had 
eaten  in  the  country,  with  an  infinitude  of  other  fruits,  and  that  the  lake 
extended  close  to  the  mountains,  which  were  according  to  my  judgment, 
fifteen  leagues  from  us. — Extract  from  Champlairfs  narrative,  i6og. 

First  Discoveries  by  White  Men 

In  the  year  1534  Jacques  Cartier,  sailing  under  com- 
mission from  the  king  of  France,  passed  through  the 
Strait  of  Belle  Isle  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  pos- 
sessed of  a  belief  that  he  was  on  the  high  road  to  Cathay. 
The  Breton  sailor  had  but  little  time  that  summer  to 
make  explorations  before  the  coming  of  the  autumn 
winds  bade  him  seek  again  the  shores  of  France.  With 
the  following  spring,  however,  he  returned  to  his  quest 
and  sailed  far  up  the  river  in  eager  search  for  a  water 
way  to  the  East  Indies  through  this  continent.  That 
way  he  never  found,  but  on  this  trip  an  incident  befell 
him  which  has  some  interest  for  us. 


2  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

In  October,  1535,  he  came  to  a  place  on  the  shore  of 
the  river  where  the  Indians  had  a  settlement.  It  was 
then  called  Hochelaga  ;  at  the  same  place,  three  fourths 
of  a  century  later,  the  French  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
city  of  Montreal.  The  Indians  received  the  white  men 
kindly,  and  during  their  brief  stay  guided  them  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain  which  rose  behind  their  town.  If 
that  day  was  clear  when  Cartier  looked  eastward  over 
the  miles  of  frost-painted  forest,  he  saw  lying  sharply 
against  the  sky  line  in  the  distance  the  pointed  summit 
of  Jay  Peak,  flanked  by  its  domelike  neighbors.  Years 
were  to  come  and  go  before  white  men  drew  near  to  the 
land  of  those  dark  hills,  but  when  the  time  came  they 
were  countrymen  of  his  who  claimed  the  honor. 

It  was  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  century  later  —  and 
nearly  three  centuries  ago — when  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
servant  of  France  in  the  New  World,  founded  the  city 
of  Quebec.  In  that  year,  1608,  Milton  was  born;  John 
Smith's  story  of  the  Jamestown  settlement  was  printed 
in  London;  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  lay  imprisoned  in  the 
Tower  of  London  writing  his  history  of  the  world.  The 
Pftgrims  were  then  leaving  the  shores  of  old  England  for 
their  brief  stay  in  Holland  before  coming  to, the  bleak 
coast  of  Plymouth;  Henry  Hudson  had  not  then  carried 
the  Dutch  flag  into  the  river  that  bears  his  name  ;  the 
King  James  version  of  our  Bible  had  not  been  finished  ; 
and  Shakespeare  had  not  laid  aside  his  pen. 

In -the  following  year  Vermont  was  first  visited  by 
white  men.  When  the  April  sun  had  loosened  the  grip 
of  ice  and  snow  on  lake  and  river  the  gallant  Frenchman 
started  on  a  voyage  of  exploration.     He  left  Quebec, 


THE    STRENGTH    OF   THE    HILLS  3 

accompanied  by  a  few  of  his  own  men  and  a  party  of 
Indians  in  their  birch  canoes,  and  set  out  up  the  river  in 
a  chaloupe.  Where  the  Richelieu  empties  into  the  St. 
Lawrence  he  took  the  smaller  stream,  and  in  June  came 
to  the  Falls  of  Chambly.  Here  he  left  the  chaloupe 
and  went  on  in  canoes  with  two  of  his  own  men  and  the 
Indians.  On  the  morning  of  July  4,  1609,  Cham  plain 
and  his  companions  glided  silently  into  the  waters  of 
that  beautiful  lake  which  henceforth  was  to  bear  his 
name.      He  wrote: 

There  are  many  pretty  islands  here,  low  and  containing  very 
fine  woods  and  meadows  with  abundance  of  fowl  and  such  ani- 
mals of  the  chase  as  stags,  fallow-deer,  fawns,  roebucks,  bears 
and  others,  which  go  from  the  mainland  to  these  islands.  We 
captured  a  large  number  of  these  animals.  There  are  also  many 
beavers,  not  only  in  this  river  but  also  in  numerous  other  little  ones 
that  flow  into  it.  These  regions,  although  they  are  pleasant,  are 
not  inhabited  by  any  savages  on  account  of  their  wars  ;  but  they 
withdraw  as  far  as  possible  from  the  rivers  into  the  interior  in 
order  not  to  be  suddenly  surprised. 

V 

They  paddled  on  past  the  islands,  and  the  further 
scenes  which  his  eyes  beheld  Champlain  recorded  in  the 
words  which  you  read  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter. 

The  Land  and  its  People 

Before  Champlain  and  his  followers  left  the  lake  they 
had  stained  their  hands  with  blood.  It  was  no  peaceful, 
undisputed  territory  into  which  they  had  so  boldly  come. 
;  It  was  a  border  land  between  great  Indian  nations,  the 
hunting  ground  and  fighting  ground  of  Algonquins  and 
Iroquois. 


4  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

South  of  the  great  lakes  and  eastward  to  the  Hudson 
River  and  Lake  Champlain  lived  the  Iroquois,  compris- 
ing powerful  tribes ;  while  through  New  England  and 
the  St.  Lawrence  region,  and  even  to  New  Brunswick, 
were  scattered  the  various  Algonquin  tribes.  The  Indi- 
ans who  accompanied  Champlain  well  knew  the  dangers 
of  this  trip,  and  came  with  him  only  on  the  under- 
standing that  he  would  help  them  fight  the  Iroquois  if 
they  should  chance  to  meet. 

They  did  meet,  and  Champlain  kept  his  promise.  The 
Iroquois  fled  from  the  deadly  guns  of  the  Europeans,  — 
weapons  which  were  new  and  strange  to  them.  But  they 
did  not  forget,  and  they  were  slow  to  forgive.  So  the 
little  battle  by  the  lakeside,  in  which  the  arquebuses  of 
three  white  men  won  the  day,  was  destined  to  breed 
trouble  for  the  French  in  Canada  in  later  years.  It 
turned  the  friendship  of  the  Iroquois  away  from  the 
French  toward  the  English  ;  it  counted  much  in  that 
long  contest  between  the  two  nations  which  was  to 
determine  the  destiny  of  this  continent. 

But  Champlain  and  his  two  countrymen  could  not 
foresee  that.  They  sat  in  the  red  light  of  the  camp  fire 
that  evening  and  watched  their  Indians  tormenting  the 
captives  with  tortures  which  to  Christian  eyes  must  have 
seemed  strange  and  pitiless. 

The  great  basin  of  the  Champlain  and  its  tributaries 
furnished  scenes  for  many  such  combats  of  which  history 
has  no  record.  The  shores  of  the  lake  and  the  lands  as 
far  eastward  as  the  mountains  were  not  safe  for  perma- 
nent settlement  by  either  of  the  two  great  rival  tribes. 
Although  the  Indians  told  Champlain  that  the  Iroquois 


} 


THE    STRENGTH    OF   THE    HILLS  5 

dwelt  in  those  parts,  it  is  not  likely  that  they  were  more 
than  hunting  grounds  through  which  parties  might  rove 
in  search  of  game  without  making  a  fixed  abode.  At 
any  rate  the  Iroquois  left  here  no  name  of  mountain, 
lake,  or  river.  The  Indian  names  which  are  preserved 
by  us  are  those  of  the  Abenakis. 

The  Green  Mountains  formed  a  natural  barrier  through 
the  length  of  the  state  which  red  men  rarely  crossed 
until  the  days  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  The 
Coosuck  Indians,  another  branch  of  Algonquins,  dwelt 
undisturbed  on  the  broad  flats  which  stretch  back  from 
the  Connecticut  River  at  Newbury  and  above  —  known 
to  early  rangers  and  settlers  as  the  Cohasse  intervals,  or 
Coos  meadows  —  until  the  white  men  came  and  drove 
them  to  Canada.  Men  now  living  have  seen  near  Wells 
River  the  remains  of  an  old  Indian  village  and  fort ;  and 
within  the  memory  of  some  the  St.  Francis  Indians 
made  periodical  visits  to  Charleston,  and  pointed  out  to 
white  settlers  the  seams  and  scars  in  old  maples  where 
their  ancestors  had  tapped  the  trees  in  spring  for  their 
annual  sugar  making. 

Relics  of  the  Past 

We  must  not  think  because  there  were  no  tribes  in 
peaceful  possession  of  the  land  when  white  men  first 
came,  that  such  had  always  been  the  case.  There  are 
traces  of  more  than  a  transient  residence  by  Indians. 
Such  relics  as  we  possess  inform  us  of  the  fact  of  their 
occupancy,  but  they  give  no  certain  knowledge  by  which 
we  can  tell  who  those  early  inhabitants  were. 


6  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

The  following  description  was  given  in  1873  of  an  old 
burial  place  of  these  people.  It  is  the  only  such  place 
within  the  state  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge. 

About  two  miles  north  of  the  village  of  Swanton  in  north- 
western Vermont  is  a  sandy  ridge,  which  was  formerly  covered 
by  a  dense  growth  of  Norway  pines  ;  the  thickly  set,  straight  trees 
resembling  somewhat  a  huge  growth  of  hemp.  The  place  was  at 
one  time  called  "  the  old  hemp  yard,"  a  name  which  still  clings  to 
it.  Rather  more  than  twelve  years  ago  it  was  discovered  that 
beneath  this  forest  stone  implements  were  buried,  and  further 
investigation  has  shown  that  the  spot  which  was  so  covered  with 
large  trees  and  stumps  when  the  white  men  first  came  into  the 
region  had  been,  ages  before,  used  as  a  burial  place  by  some 
people  whose  only  records  are  the  various  objects  which  the  affec- 
tionate care  of  the  living  placed  in  the  graves  of  the  dead.  From 
directly  beneath  the  largest  trees  or  half-decayed  stumps  some 
of  these  relics  were  taken,  so  that  we  may  feel  sure  that  before 
the  great  pines  which  for  many  years,  perhaps  centuries,  grew, 
flourished,  and  decayed,  had  germinated,  these  graves  were  dug, 
and  with  unknown  ceremonies  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  placed 
in  them,  together  with  those  articles  that  had  been  used  during  life, 
or  were  supposed  to  be  needed  in  a  future  existence.  We  cannot 
know  how  many  successive  growths  of  trees  may  have  followed 
each  other  since  the  forest  began  to  usurp  the  place  set  apart  for 
sepulture. 

We  find  also  very  many  relics  of  more  recent  Indian 
life  and  occupancy.  Along  the  borders  of  the  streams 
which  empty  into  Lake  Champlain,  along  the  higher 
lands  beside  them,  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  itself,  and 
on  the  islands,  the  specimens  of  their  handiwork  and  arts 
have  been  frequently  found. 

In  a  few  instances  multiplicity  of  domestic  implements 
has  indicated  the  site  of  a  village  or  a  frequently  visited 


tutttftll' 


Prehistoric  Implements  found  in  Vermont 
Slate  knives;  gouges  or  hollow  chisels :  points  and  scrapers  ;  pipes. 


8 


HISTORY    OF    VERMON1 


camping  ground.  One  such  place  was  near  Swanton, 
where  the  St.  Francis  Indians  had  a  village  near  the 
river  which  they  had  occupied  from  ancient  times.  Here, 
too,  was  an  old  burial  place,  four  or  five  miles  from  the 
ancient  graves  mentioned  above.  The  Indians  had  no 
knowledge  of  these  earlier  graves,  but  knew  only  those 
of  their  own  kinsmen. 

Across  the  lake,  on  a  sand  ridge  north  of  Plattsburg, 
there  were  kilns  where  pottery  was  burned.     Here  were 

scattered  about  clus- 
ters of  burned  stones, 
masses  of  burned  clay, 
and  numerous  bits  of 
pottery.  Remains  of 
old  fortifications  have 
been  found,  with  many 
arrow  and  spear  points 
near  by,  while  on 
Grand  Isle  in  the  lake 
the  remains  of  many 
arrow  and  spear  points 
and  unfinished  articles  showr  that  once  there  was  a  manu- 
factory of  them  there.  Less  common  than  arrow  and 
spear  points  are  the  gouges  and  chisels  of  various  kinds 
of  stone,  some  hard  enough  to  scrape  the  charred  embers 
from  logs  which  were  burning  out  for  canoes,  others  so 
soft  as  to  be  of  little  use  except  to  smooth  the  seams 
of  deerskin  garments  or  be  used  in  dressing  leather. 

Stone  pestles  and  mortars  for  pounding  corn  were  not 
uncommon ;  while  other  pestles,  made  of  slate,  were 
sometimes  used  to  crush  or  mash  the  grain  by  rolling 


Copper  Knives  and  Points 


1411444* 
t*44#4lA 

4*4*1 


Prehistoric  Implements  found  in  Vermont 

Ornamental  jar  found  at  Colchester ;  a  larger  globular  jar  ;  triangular,  quadrangular, 
double  and  single  edged  axes  or  celts ;  points ;  ceremonial  stones. 


IO  111  STORY    OF    VERMONT 

it  upon  a  flat  stone  or  log.  The  slate  if  used  in  sharp 
contact  with  another  stone  would  have  left  too  much 
grit  in  the  grain  even  for  an  Indian's  taste.  Stone  axes 
and  hatchets  have  been  found.  Fragments  of  soapstone 
pots  and  jars  have  been  found,  but  only  two  entire  jars 
are  now  in  existence.  In  fact  only  four  or  five  from  the 
whole  of  New  England  are  now  known  to  exist. 

Other  pots  and  jars,  made  of  burned  clay,  have  been 
found  more  plentifully.  They  are  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes,  and  some  are  quite  remarkable.  One  exception- 
ally fine  specimen  of  an  ornamental  jar  of  Indian  manu- 
facture was  found  at  Colchester  near  Burlington,  in  1825. 

Copper  articles  seem  to  have  been  rare  among  the 
Indians  of  this  state.  Those  which  have  been  found  are 
apparently  made  of  native  copper  which  probably  came 
from  Lake  Superior,  beaten  into  the  desired  shape. 
They  must  have  come  here  in  the  course  of  war  or  trade. 
Agricultural  implements  are  also  rare.  Some  flint  or 
hornstone  spades  have  been  discovered,  and  some  of 
these  might  have  been  attached  to  handles  and  used 
as  hoes. 

In  Indian  ceremonials  and  tribal  proceedings  perhaps 
no  single  article  was  so  important  as  the  calumet,  or  pipe. 
It  was  indispensable  in  declaring  war  or  peace,  in  ratify- 
ing treaties,  and  in  the  settlement  of  religious  questions. 
Specimens  of  pipes  have  been  found  in  the  Champlain 
Valley,  some  of  them  carved  and  variously  ornamented 
with  designs  of  animals. 

In  two  places  within  the  state  the  Indians  left  inscrip- 
tions on  rocks.  One  of  these,  known  as  "  Indian  Rock," 
is  at   Brattleboro,  near  the  junction   of  the  West   and 


THE    STRENGTH    OF   THE    HILLS  n 

Connecticut  rivers.  It  has  pictured  on  its  surface  ten 
or  eleven  figures  of  birds,  mammals,  and  snakes.  The 
other  inscriptions  are  on  two  granite  rocks  near  the 
Connecticut  at  Bellows  Falls.  One  of  the  rocks  bears 
on  it  the  rudely  graven  figure  of  a  large  head,  some 
twenty  inches  long,  surmounted  by  rays  ;  the  other  has 
twenty  heads  of  varying  sizes  but  all  smaller  than  the 
one  just  mentioned.  Some  of  these  also  have  rays,  and 
all  are  similarly  made,  being  roughly  outlined  with  a 
broad  shallow  groove,  the  eyes  and  mouth  consisting  in 
most  cases  of  mere  circular  depressions,  and  the  nose 
being  usually  omitted  altogether.  Various  guesses  have 
been  made  as  to  the  meaning  of  these  inscriptions,  but 
we  have  little  reason  to  suppose  that  they  were  designed 
to  convey  any  special  message. 

From  these  scattered  relics  and  others  that  have  been 
found  it  will  be  seen  that  although  the  Indians  left  no 
written  records  they  did  leave  many  things  which  tell  us 
of  their  lives  in  war  and  peace.  We  have  the  measure 
of  their  skill  in  the  weapons  and  tools  which  they  fash- 
ioned ;  and  these  silent  witnesses  to  their  arts  and  crafts 
enable  us  to  form  some  idea  of  their  degree  of  civilization. 
We  can  see  how  far  they  learned  to  use  the  gifts  of  nature 
as  raw  material  for  their  crude  workmanship.  We  have 
evidences  of  what  their  taste  and  skill  in  ornamentation 
were.  From  their  tools  we  can  gather  what  their  highest 
attempts  were  in  rough  carpentry  and  agriculture. 

We  know  also  that  here  in  our  state,  when  it  was  but 
an  unnamed  wilderness,  were  hunting  grounds  inhabited 
by  many  kinds  of  game  in  abundance.  Here  and  there 
on  the  broad  intervals  of  the  larger  rivers  were  fertile 


12  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

fields  where  the  Indian  women  could  raise  maize  and 
their  few  vegetables  ;  while  the  hunters  roamed  the  forest 
for  game,  or  sought  the  streams  where  salmon  ran,  the 
mountain  brooks  where  trout  were  ever  abundant,  and 
the  lakes  where  lay  great  maskinonge. 

From  the  skins  of  the  deer,  elk,  moose,  and  beaver 
they  could  fashion  their  rough  garments  and  frame  some 
protection  from  the  winter's  cold.  The  flesh  of  their 
slaughtered  game  furnished  the  main  part  of  their  sus- 
tenance ;  and  thus  through  the  changing  seasons  they 
lived,  halfway  between  the  hunting  stage  and  the  agri- 
cultural stage,  depending  on  Nature's  bounty,  till  the 
white  men  came. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WARS 

Voted,  That  it  will  be  of  great  service  to  all  the  western  frontiers, 
both  in  this  and  the  neighboring  government  of  Connecticut,  to  build 
a  Block  House  above  Northfield,  in  the  most  convenient  place  on  the 
lands  call'd  the  Equivalent  Lands,1  and  to  post  in  it  forty  able  men, 
English  and  Western  Indians,  to  be  employed  in  scouting  at  a  good 
distance  up  the  Connecticut  River,  West  River,  Otter  Creek,  and  some- 
times eastwardly,  above  great  Monadnuck,  for  the  discovery  of  the 
enemy  coming  towards  any  of  the  frontier  towns. — Massachusetts  Court 
Records,  Dec.  27, 1728. 

Colonial  Politics 

It  was  not  very  many  years  after  the  French  had 
established  settlements  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  at 
Quebec  and  Montreal,  before  English  settlers  sought 
homes  on  the  rocky  New  England  coast,  and  the  Dutch 
sat  down  to  trade  on  the  island  of  Manhattan,  in  that 

1  The  "equivalent  lands"  were  tracts  lying  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  present  state  of  Vermont  which  were  given  by  Massachusetts  to 
Connecticut,  to  take  the  place  of  some  Connecticut  land  which  Mass 
achusetts  had  by  mistake  been  granting.  Boundaries  were  a  little 
uncertain  in  early  days,  and  when  in  1713  they  were  determined,  it 
was  found  that  Massachusetts  had  granted  107,793  acres  which  did  not 
belong  to  her.  But  since  she  very  naturally  wished  to  retain  the  juris- 
diction over  the  settlers,  it  was  arranged  that  Connecticut  should  accept 
an  equal  number  of  acres  in  ungranted  territory.  They  were  called  for 
this  reason  the  "  equivalent  lands."  Connecticut  sold  them  at  public 
auction,  at  Hartford,  in  17 16,  for  .£683,  New  England  currency.  The 
money  thus  obtained  was  donated  to  Yale  College,  then  a  young 
institution  of  learning.  The  lands  were  bought  by  gentlemen  from 
Connecticut,   Massachusetts,   and   London. 


14  HISTORY    OF    \  ERMONT 

wonderful  harbor  which  is  the  glory  of  all  true  New 
Yorkers.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  three  great  powers 
of  the  Old  World  found  themselves  neighbors  in  the 
New  World  also.  From  the  time  when  they  opened 
their -eyes  to  this  fact  they  began  a  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  this  part  of  our  continent.  The  Dutch 
did  not  struggle  long,  for  in  the  year  1664  an  English 
squadron  sailed  into  the  harbor  and  compelled  the  crusty 
old  Dutch  governor,  Peter  Stuyvesant,  to  yield  the 
city.  Its  name  was  then  changed  from  New  Amster- 
dam to  New  York,  in  honor  of  the  king's  brother,  the 
Duke  of  York. 

News  like  this  made  the  French  settlers  in  Canada 
and  the  French  government  in  France  more  anxious 
than  ever  to  curb  the  growing  power  of  the  English 
here  in  America.  And  the  English,  as  they  heard  how 
the  French  were  finding  their  way  far  up  the  rivers 
and  even  beyond  the  great  lakes,  grew  more  and  more 
anxious  to  curb  the  growing  power  of  the  French.  One 
could  say  that  it  became  the  policy  of  the  French  to 
drive  the  English  from  America,  and  the  policy  of  the 
English  to  drive  out  the  French.  This  was  the  great 
theme  of  colonial  politics.  Instead  of  taking  sides  for 
candidates  and  talking  about  the  men  who  wanted  to  be 
president  or  governor,  the  English  in  America  all  took 
sides  against  the  French,  saying  to  themselves,  "We 
must  drive  them  out  of  Canada."  This  was  as  accurate 
an  expression  of  their  political  creed  as  modern  party 
platforms  are  of  ours  to-day. 

When  two  great  nations  hold  such  utterly  contradic- 
tory notions  about  the  same  thing  it  does  not  require 


THE   FRENCH   AM)    INDIAN    WARS  15 

a  prophet  to  foresee  trouble.  Of  course  so  long  as 
the  French  remained  quietly  in  Canada  and  the  English 
remained  quietly  in  New  England,  with  a  great  stretch 
of  uninhabited  country  between  them,  they  could  not 
enter  on  this  great  and  necessary  work  of  driving  each 
other  out.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  in  their  attempts  to 
get  rid  of  each  other  the  colonists  of  the  two  nations 
and  their  allies  crossed  and  recrossed  this  intervening 
territory  in  a  long  series  of  raids  and  forays  which  have 
gone  down  in  history  as  the  French  and  Indian  wars. 

This  is  the  real  meaning  of  those  wars  :  the  French 
and  English  were  trying  to  oust  each  other  from  the  land. 
What  especially  concerns  us  is  the  fact  that  a  very 
important  part  of  this  country  through  which  they  made 
their  bloody  trails  was  the  land  which  came  in  after 
years  to  be  our  state  of  Vermont. 

The  Frenxh,  the  English,  and  the  Indians 

It  would  be  well  if  we  could  remember  how  very 
differently  the  French  and  English  colonists  went  about 
their  work  of  gaining  a  foothold  in  the  New  World.  It 
would  help  to  explain  many  things.  It  would  tell  us 
why  their  interests  clashed  and  why  they  hated  each 
other  so  ;  why  the  French  pushed  so  rapidly  through 
leagues  of  forest  and  stream,  while  the  English  clung 
close  to  the  coasts  ;  why  the  Indians  hated  the  English 
and  clove  to  the  French  and  so  helped  them  in  these 
savage  wars. 

While  the  English  cut  away  the  forests  to  make  clear- 
ings for  their  little  homes  and  farms  which  they  could 
till,    the    French    went   here   and   there   through   uncut 


16  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

forests,  trading  with  the  Indians  for  furs.  In  conse- 
quence of  this,  while  the  English  were  confined  to  little 
settlements  along  the  shores  and  near  the  mouths  of 
the  larger  streams,  the  French  had  made  their  way 
along  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  through  the  great  lakes, 
northward,  far,  far  up  the  rivers  into  the  heart  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  country,  and  southward  back  of  the  line 
of  English  colonies  which  stretched  like  a  narrow  fringe 
along  the  Atlantic  coast. 

As  for  the  Indians,  they  looked  upon  the  English 
clearing  away  the  forest  and  destroying  the  old  hunt- 
ing grounds,  and  they  knew  that  although  the  settle- 
ments at  first  were  small  and  the  settlers  ready  to  be 
friendly,  the  time  would  surely  come  when  the  settlements 
would  be  large  and  the  white  men  their  enemies.  The 
French,  on  the  contrary,  destroyed  no  hunting  grounds. 
Their  fur  trade  depended  on  the  hunting  grounds.  They 
came,  too,  and  dwelt  like  brothers  among  the  Indians  and 
ranged  the  forests  with  them,  sharing  their  hardships. 
In  fact,  sometimes  they  were  brothers,  for  they  took 
dusky  Indian  maidens  to  wife.  They  built  a  fort  here 
or  established  a  trading  post  there  ;  but  these  served 
the  Indians  as  well  as  the  French,  and  were  primarily 
headquarters  for  trade,  at  which  only  a  white  man  or  two 
would  be  found  in  sole  charge  for  weeks  and  months  at 
a  time. 

There  was  another  cause  of  friendship  between  the 
Indians  and  the  French.  Jesuit  missionaries  went  in 
hardship  and  suffering  establishing  missions  among  the 
different  tribes,  converting  them  and  winning  them  to 
the  faith  and  the  friendship  of  their  countrymen.      Many 


THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN    WARS  \J 

records  and  letters  were  left  by  these  Jesuits,  which  are 
now  called  the  Jesuit  Relations.  These  are  to-day  the 
most  important  and  valuable  sources  of  knowledge  which 
we  have  of  these  Indian  tribes  at  the  time  when  the 
white  men  first  came  among  them. 

When  we  thoroughly  understand  the  French  method 
of  occupying  Canada,  we  have  discovered  something 
which  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the  conduct  of  the  French 
and  Indian  wars.  For  example,  we  see  that  in  all  the 
long  line  of  their  widely  scattered  trading  posts,  in  all 
the  broad  expanse  of  territory  which  the  French  held 
in  name,  there  were  really  in  Canada  but  two  towns  of 
great  importance,  Quebec  and  Montreal.  We  see  that 
the  English  colonists,  if  they  wished  to  harm  the  French, 
must  prepare  expeditions  large  enough  and  strong  enough 
to  take  these  two  fortresses,  the  bulwarks  of  the  French 
occupation  of  Canada.  To  do  this  they  must  have  ships 
and  cannon  as  well  as  men.  On  the  other  hand  it  was 
quite  an  easy  matter  for  a  French  commander  at  Mont- 
real to  send  out  day  after  day  little  bands  of  Indians 
through  that  great  forest  which  stretched  toward  the 
English  settlements,  to  fall  upon  the  scattered  and  almost 
defenseless  cabins  on  the  frontier.  Those  cabins  were 
not  mere  trading  posts  ;  they  were  homes  in  which  were 
women  and  the  precious  children,  treasures  dearer  than 
furs,  more  precious  than  life  itself. 

The  Indian  Trails 

These  raids  of  marauding  bands  of  Indians  and  French 
will  have  more  than  a  passing  interest  for  us  when  we 
recall   that    the   main   routes  which  were  traversed  lay 


[8  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

across  our  state,  although  it  was  long  before  that  state 
was  settled  or  bore  a  name.  There  were  some  four 
or  five  of  these  routes  which  we  ought  to  remember, 
and  to  do  so  will  not  be  difficult  if  we  trace  them  on 
the  map. 

If  we  bear  in  mind  the  starting  points,  the  destination, 
and  the  principal  water  courses  which  lay  between,  we 
shall  be  guided,  as  the  Indians  were,  by  the  natural 
features  of  the  country  into  the  easiest  and  for  that 
reason  the  most  frequented  routes.  The  French  were 
at  Montreal ;  the  English  settlers  were  east  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  or  along  its  lower  waters.  That  river 
furnished  war  parties  with  a  great  highway  in  summer 
or  winter  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country. 

The  first  route  to  be  named  lay  across  the  north- 
western corner  of  the  state.  A  party  would  follow 
this  route  by  coming  up  the  St.  Francis  River  to  Lake 
Memph  rem  agog  and  leaving  the  lake  through  the  Clyde 
River.  That  would  take  them  to  Island  Pond,  from 
which  they  could  make  a  short  carry  to  the  Nulhegan 
and  be  guided  to  the  more  northern  stretches  of  the 
Connecticut. 

If  our  war  party  wished  to  reach  a  point  on  the 
river  a  little  farther  south,  it  would  leave  Lake  Mem- 
phremagog  by  way  of  the  Barton  River,  following  it  to 
Crystal  Lake,  and  thence  going  up  over  the  height  of 
land  where  the  springs  lie  close  together  that  empty 
north  and  south,  and  follow  down  the  valley  of  the  lit- 
tle brook  that  leads,  ever  widening,  to  the  Passumpsic, 
which  in  turn  would  take  them  to  the  Connecticut  near 
the  Cohasse  intervals. 


THE   FRENCH  AND    INDIAN    WARS  19 

But  there  were  easier  and  quicker  routes  than  these, 
especially  for  large  parties  coming  from  Montreal.  Just 
as  a  great  river  stretched  along  the  eastern  border,  so 
a  great  lake  lay  on  the  western  border  of  the  state  and 
offered  them  miles  of  easy  travel  by  canoe  instead  of 
tedious  marches  overland  through  the  forest.  So  the 
Lake  Champlain  routes  were  more  often  used  than  those 
which  led  through  Lake  Memphremagog. 

There  were  three  of  these  Champlain  routes :  one 
leading  across  the  state  by  way  of  the  Winooski  River, 
one  by  the  Otter  Creek,  and  one  by  the  Pawlet  River. 
Cuming  to  the  lake  by  the  ancient  way  which  Champlain 
had  followed,  a  party  could  turn  in  at  the  Winooski, 
follow  the  stream  up  through  the  mountains,  cross  from 
its  upper  waters  to  those  of  the  White  River,  and  follow 
that  till  it  joined  the  Connecticut  at  the  place  where 
White  River  Junction  now  stands.  It  was  along  this 
route  that  Rouville  led  his  band  of  French  and  Indians 
in  their  murderous  raid  on  Deerfield  in  1 704 ;  hither 
part  of  the  company  retraced  their  steps,  leading  along 
the  icebound  streams  through  the  snows  of  February 
the  half-clad  and  half-starved  captives  who  had  escaped 
massacre.  We  cannot  wonder  that  the  settlers  long 
called  the  Winooski  "the  French   River." 

Still  another  route  there  was,  by  way  of  the  Otter 
Creek.  Where  it  becomes  a  swift  mountain  stream 
the  Indians  would  leave  it,  cross  by  trail  the  height  of 
land,  and  going  down  on  the  east  side  of  the  hills,  follow 
either  the  Black  River  or  West  River,  as  they  chose,  to 
the  Connecticut.  This  was  an  easy  route  and  came  to  be 
much  used,  so  that  it  was  known  as  "the  Indian  road.'' 


20  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

It  was  nearest  to  Crown  Point  on  the  Champlain  side  ; 
and  when  the  French  had  been  driven  away,  and  the 
wars  had  ceased,  the  settlers  took  it  up  and  made  it 
the  basis  of  one  of  their  first  roads  through  the  woods, 
from  Number  Four  to  Crown  Point. 

The  last  of  these  routes,  that  one  which  followed 
the  Pawlet  River,  was  of  less  importance.  It  began  at 
the  head  of  the  lake,  and  after  reaching  that  point  on  the 
river  where  the  crossing  was  easiest  over  the  summit, 
led  to  West  River  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains. 
In  all  these  routes  the  eastern  highway  of  the  raiding 
parties  was  the  Connecticut  River.  As  Lake  Champlain 
was  the  great  water  way  on  the  west,  so  this  long,  quiet 
stream  lay  at  their  service  east  of  the  mountains,  whether 
it  were  open  for  canoes  in  the  pleasant  warmth  of  sum- 
mer months  or  locked  in  ice  in  winter,  secure  and  solid 
beneath  the  tread  of  moccasined  feet. 

Indian  Raids 

As  a  general  statement  one  might  say  that  from  1689 
to  1763  the  border  settlements  on  the  Connecticut  and 
Merrimac  rivers  were  never  safe  from  the  ravages  of 
scouting  parties  harassing  the  frontier.  If  you  should 
chance  to  run  across  the  memoranda  of  a  certain  French 
officer  at  Montreal  in  1746,  you  would  read  a  record 
made  day  after  day  of  parties  of  Indians  sent  out  to 
"strike  a  blow"  at  the  English,  now  in  this  direction, 
now  in  that,  but  especially  "towards  Boston."  You 
would  read  also  records  of  the  scalps  brought  back,  until 
you  sickened  at  the  thought  of  it,  and  wondered  no 
longer  that  the  very  name  of  the  French  was  hated  in 


THE  FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WARS  21 

New  England,  and  that  settlers  lived  in  daily  dread  of 
the  sound  of  the  war  whoop  and  the  sight  of  a  brandished 
tomahawk.  You  will  recall,  too,  that  when  Rogers's 
rangers  destroyed  the  village  of  St.  Francis  they  found 
hundreds  of  English  scalps  hanging  at  the  doors  of  the 
lodges. 

In  all  the  long  series  of  conflicts  which  go  to  make  up 
the  French  and  Indian  wars,  probably  no  single  attack 
came  with  so  sudden  a  shock  or  has  been  retold  more 
times  than  that  famous  raid  on  the  village  of  Deerfield, 
Massachusetts,  made  in  the  winter  of  1704  by  Hertel  de 
Rouville  and  his  band  of  two  hundred  French  and  one 
hundred  and  forty-two  Indians.  Coming  by  the  Winooski 
trail,  under  the  snow-laden  branches  of  the  forest,  they 
passed  down  the  Connecticut  River  on  the  ice  and 
reached  Deerfield  on  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  Febru- 
ary. Recently  fallen  snows  had  drifted  high  against  the 
palisade  of  the  village  at  the  northeast  corner.  When 
the  watchman  left  his  post  in  the  early  hours  of  morning, 
little  dreaming  that  an  enemy  lay  shivering  under  the 
pines  two  miles  north  of  the  village,  the  settlement  was 
helplessly  at  the  mercy  of  the  raiders.  Climbing  over 
the  palisade  on  the  crusted  snow,  they  scattered  through 
the  town  and  were  soon  ready  to  begin  their  work  of  mur- 
der. It  was  quickly  over.  Forty-seven  of  the  inhabitants 
were  slain,  the  village  was  set  on  fire,  and  when  the  sun 
was  an  hour  high  the  march  to  Canada  had  begun. 

On  the  night  of  the  fourth  day  of  the  march  the  party 
stopped  near  the  site  of  Brattleboro  and  built  light 
sledges  on  which  to  carry  the  children,  the  sick,  and  the 
wounded.     The  march  was  then  renewed,  and  was  rapid 


22  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

over  the  ice  of  the  river.  At  the  mouth  of  the  White 
River,  Rouville  divided  his  party.  One  division  went  by 
the  White  River,  crossed  the  highlands,  and  took  the 
Winooski  trail.  On  coming  to  the  lake  they  turned 
aside  to  rest  a  few  days  at  the  Indian  village  near 
Swanton  ;  then  they  went  on  to  Montreal.  The  other 
division  kept  on  up  the  Connecticut  till  they  came  to 
the  great  meadows  at  Newbury,  —  the  Cohasse  intervals, 
—  where,  half-starved,  they  stopped  till  corn-planting 
time.  They  lived  meantime  on  game,  but  they  dared 
not  stay  for  the  harvest  of  corn,  fearing  the  vengeance 
of  the  English. 

The  First  White  Occupancy 

The  success  of  the  Deerfield  raid  encouraged  many 
more,  and  for  some  years  the  frontiers  of  the  New 
England  provinces  were  one  continuous  scene  of  merci- 
less pillage.  So  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  passed  the  vote  which  stands  at  the 
beginning  of  the  chapter.  The  torment  of  Indians  on 
the  frontier  and  the  necessity  of  building  such  outposts 
for  defense  explain  why  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  state 
were  not  settlers  who  had  come  to  hew  homes  from 
the  forest,  but  garrisons  at  these  blockhouses  or  forts, 
guarding  the  frontier  on  the  edge  of  the  wilderness. 

The  blockhouse  which  was  built  above  Northfield  by 
the  order  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  was  by 
no  means  the  first  of  its  kind  within  the  state.  Up  in 
the  northwest  corner,  on  an  island  in  Lake  Champlain, 
the  French  had  done  the  same  thing  years  before.  It 
happened   in   this  way.     Monsieur  de  Tracy,   who  was 


THE    FRENCH   AND    INDIAN    WARS  23 

then  governor  of  New  France,  as  the  French  possessions 
in  Canada  were  called,  began  in  1664  a  line  of  fortifica- 
tions from  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu  River  to  Lake 
Champlain.  During  the  first  year  he  built  three  forts 
along  the  river,  and  in  the  next  spring  he  ordered  Captain 
de  La  Motte  to  proceed  up  the  lake  and  build  a  fort  on 
an  island.  He  did  so  that  same  year  and  called  the  fort 
St.  Anne  ;  but  that  name  was  later  changed  to  La  Motte 
after  the  builder's  name.  Long  after  the  fort  crumbled 
to  decay  the  island  bore  the  name  of  the  French  captain 
and  bears  it  to  this  day.  That  is  how  the  French  first 
built  in  Vermont  and  why  one  of  the  islands  in  Grand 
Isle  County  is  called  Isle  La  Motte. 

For  a  long  time  the  French  held  this  fort  as  a  garrison  ; 
the  island  they  dwelt  upon  for  nearly  a  hundred  years. 
From  this  fort  the  French  soldiers  and  their  allies  of 
Indians  hunted  deer  and  elk  and  sent  out  expeditions 
against  the  Mohawks.  Many  years  after,  at  Colchester 
Point,  which  would  be  about  a  day's  journey  by  canoe 
from  St.  Anne,  our  early  settlers  found  the  remains  of 
an  old  chimney  bottom  and  a  wall.  Near  by  there  grew 
some  very  old  red  and  white  currant  bushes  ;  and  on  the 
beach  by  the  lake  they  picked  up  a  number  of  curious 
old  things,  —  Indian  arrows,  leaden  balls,  scraps  of  iron, 
pieces  of  silver  and  copper  coins,  bones  of  animals,  and 
the  remains  of  two  human  skeletons  which  had  washed 
out  from  the  neighboring  banks  at  high  water.  Such 
evidences  make  it  appear  very  probable  that  there  was 
once  a  French  settlement  at  Colchester  Point,  made 
perhaps  in  connection  with  the  garrisoned  fortress  of 
St.  Anne. 


24  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

The  advancing  operations  of  the  French  in  that  quarter 
did  not  come  as  welcome  tidings  to  the  English  ;  and 
New  York  authorities  sent  some  officers  and  men  with  a 
few  Mohawk  Indians  to  look  into  affairs  about  the  lake 
and  see  what  it  all  meant.  So  we  find  that  in  early 
spring  in  1 690  a  certain  Captain  de  Warm  was  in  the 
country  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  with  about  seven- 
teen white  men  and  twenty  Indians,  acting  on  orders 
from  the  New  York  authorities  at  Albany.  We  find, 
too,  that  another  captain,  Abraham  Schuyler  by  name, 
was  ordered  to  go  to  the  mouth  of  the  Otter  Creek  and 
there  "to  watch  day  and  night  for  one  month,  and  daily 
communicate  with  Captain  de  Warm." 

De  Warm  meantime  crossed  to  the  eastern  side  of  the 
lake  and  built  a  little  stone  fort  at  Chimney  Point  in 
Addison.  When  in  August  of  the  same  year  Captain 
Schuyler  led  the  first  English  war  party  that  ever  passed 
through  the  lake,  they  stopped  at  the  little  stone  fort 
and  near  there  killed  two  elk.  But  the  English  did  not 
keep  up  the  occupancy  of  it,  and  in  1 73  1  the  French 
came  down  and  made  a  settlement  there. 

We  now  see  that  the  first  three  places  in  Vermont  to 
be  occupied  for  any  length  of  time  by  white  people  were 
military  outposts  built  by  the  French  and  the  English. 
With  the  possible  exception  of  the  French  settlements, 
whose  extent  we  do  not  know,  there  was  no  colonization 
attempted  at  these  posts.  They  were  establishments 
from  which  scouting  parties  might  range  the  country, 
keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  operations  of  the  enemy,  and 
in  cases  of  emergency  meet  for  defense.  They  were 
also  what  the  English  and  French  governments  would 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WARS 


25 


have  called  "  marks  of  possession,"  had  they  been  trying 
to  agree  on  a  boundary  line  instead  of  trying  to  drive 
each  other  out  ;  but  such  marks  of  possession,  as  you 
may  have  noticed,  amount  to  but  very  little  when  two 
countries  are  fighting  for  the  same  thing,  because  the 
stronger  can  always  take  it  and  usually  does. 

There  is,  however,  an  observation  about  these  posts 
which  is  of  some  significance.  That  is,  that  the  English 
and  the  French  were  creeping  nearer  to  each  other  in 
this  country  and  getting  ready  to  spring  at  each  other's 
throat ;  that  both  were  very  evidently  possessed  of  a 
growing  determination  in  their  policy;  that  just  as  fast 
as  they  grew  strong  they  would  use  their  strength 
against  each  other.  From  what  we  have  now  learned  it 
would  not  require  much  wisdom  to  conjecture  that  these 
two  nations  would  never  inhabit  this  country  together 
in  peace,  but  that  sooner  or  later  one  of  them  would  be 
whipped  from  its  shores. 

The  old  fortress  of  St.  Anne  crumbled  to  decay,  and 
the  walls  of  the  little  stone  fort  at  Chimney  Point  fell 
into  ruins,  but  the  blockhouse  at  Fort  Dummer  lasted 
on.  The  English  occupancy  about  it  never  ceased,  so 
we  will  turn  back  once  more  to  that. 

The  blockhouse  was  begun  in  February  next  after 
the  vote  of  the  General  Court.  Colonel  John  Stoddard 
of  Northampton  had  the  general  supervision  of  the  work, 
and  he  sent  up  "  four  carpenters,  twelve  soldiers  with 
narrow  axes,  and  two  teams,"  under  T.  D wight,  to  build 
it.  It  is  said  that  "the  soldiers  slept  in  the  woods  and 
earned  two  shillings  per  diem  besides  their  stated  pay. 
The  horses  worked  hard,  eat  oats   and   nothing  else." 


1 1  I.STORY    OK    YKKMONT 


The  carpenters  from  Northfield  received  five  shillings  a 
day,  except  John  Crowfoot,  —  who  was  not  a  Northfield 
carpenter  at  all,  but  a  Springfield  Indian,  —  and  he 
received  six  shillings. 


Built  ell  the  out     iS\ 
S,de  by  je  Province 


The  Perade 
The  Phisognomy  of  fort  Dumer 


CollV  Wit lards 
hou%e  Built  by 
the  Province 


to  the  ydfe 

£  35  A> 


The  Phisognomy  of  Fort  Dumer" 


They  all  must  have  worked  pretty  hard,  for  by  the 
time  the  maples  and  birches  were  in  full  leaf  and  sum- 
mer showed  her  fresh  green  in  the  clearing  the  fort  was 
ready  to  be  occupied.      It  was  named  Fort   bummer,  in 


THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN    WARS 


27 


Fort   Dimmer 


honor  of  the  man  who  was  lieutenant  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts. It  was  a  right  good  fort,  built  for  the  busi- 
ness it  would  have 
to  face,  and  was 
pitched  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Con- 
necticut, in  the 
southeast  corner  of 
the  present  town  of 
Brattleboro,  on  the 
Dummer  meadows. 

It  was  stoutly  built  of  the  yellow  pines  that  grew 
close  at  hand  and  was  made  nearly  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  square.  Houses  were  built  inside  the  inclo- 
sure  with  their  backs  to  the  wall  of  the  fort  and  facing 
the  hollow  square  or  parade  ground  in  the  center. 
If  the  enemy  broke  through  the  gates  or  scaled  the 
walls,  as  they  had  done  at  Deerfield,  the  garrison  could 
barricade  themselves  in  the  houses  and  fire  upon  the 
foe  in  the  hollow  square. 

Scouting  Parties 

During  the  unsafe  and  troubled  times  which  followed 
for  many  years  we  could  not  expect  to  find  settlers 
building  homes  in  the  wilderness.  That  was  a  task  all 
too  hard  in  the  most  favorable  times  ;  it  could  not  be 
thought  of  when  the  woods  were  full  of  scouting  parties 
of  New  France  ready  to  destroy  the  growing  crops,  to 
plunder  and  ruin  the  homes,  burn  the  little  cabins,  take 
prisoners  the  inmates  and  carry  them  as  captives  to 
Canada,  or  strike  the  murderous  blow  if  they  were  too 


28  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

feeble  to   endure  the    terrible    march   of    two    hundred 
miles  through  the  wilderness. 

From  these  forts,  therefore,  or  outposts  like  the 
blockhouse  on  the  Dummer  meadows,  we  may  only 
expect  to  find  that  scouting  parties  go  out  and  return, 
making  the  fort  their  headquarters  at  which  to  receive 
their  orders,  report  their  trips,  and  equip  themselves 
for  tiresome  tramps  through  the  forests  and  along  the 
streams.  The  extracts  from  Captain  Kellogg's  journal 
show  that  such  scouting  parties  began  to  range  the 
country  promptly  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  that 
Fort   Dummer  was  built. 

I  have  sent  out  [the  record  runs]  several  scouts,  an  account 
of  which  I  here  present. 

The  first  on  November  30,  we  went  on  ye 1  west  side  of 
Connecticut  River  and  crossing  ye  West  River  went  up  to  ye 
Great  Falls  and  returned,  making  no  discovery  of  any  Enemy. 
[The  great  falls  mentioned  here  are  the  Bellows  Falls  of  to-day.] 

The  next  scout  went  up  ye  West  River  6  miles,  and  then 
crossed  ye  wood  up  to  ye  Great  Falls,  and  returned  making  no 
discovery  of  any  new  signs  of  an  enemy. 

The  next  scout  I  sent  out  west  from  Northfield  about  12 
miles  and  from  thence  northward,  crossing  West  River  thro  ye 
woods  ;  then  steering  east,  they  came  to  ye  Canoo  place  about 
16  or  17  miles  above  Northfield. 

The  next  scout  I  sent  out  northwest  about  6  miles,  and  then 
they  steered  north  until  they  crossed  West  River,  and  so  thro  ye 
woods  to  ye  Great  Meadows  below  ye  Great  Falls,  then  they 
crossed  Connecticut  River  and  came  down  on  ye  East  side  untill 
they  came  to  Northfield  without  any  new  discovery,  this  Meadow 
being  about  32  miles  from  Northfield. 

1  The  old  form  ye  is  the  same  as  the  and  so  pronounced,  the  y  myt 
being  the  obsolete  form  of  th. 


THE  FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WARS  29 

The  next  scout  I  sent  up  ye  West  River  Mountain,  and  there 
to  Lodge  on  ye  top  and  view  Evening  and  Morning  for  smoaks, 
and  from  thence  up  to  ye  mountain  at  ye  Great  Falls  and  there 
also  to  Lodge  on  ye  top  and  view  morning  and  evening  for  smoaks  ; 
but  these  making  no  discovery  returned. 

The  next  scout  I  sent  up  ye  West  River  5  miles  and  then 
north  till  they  came  upon  Sexton's  River,  6  miles  from  ye  mouth 
of  it,  wc  empties  itself  at  ye  foot  of  ye  Great  Falls,  and  then  they 
came  down  till  they  came  to  ye  mouth  of  it,  and  so  returned,  but 
made  no  discovery  of  any  enemy. 

So  the  purpose  of  the  fort  was  served,  and  the  settle- 
ments rested  a  little  more  easily  in  the  knowledge  that 
if  Indians  did  come  there  were  now  up  at  Fort  Dummer 
stanch  men  keeping  watch  by  night  and  day,  scanning 
with  keen  eyes  the  pathless  forest ;  and  they  knew  that 
it  would  be  a  small  band  indeed  that  could  slip  past 
undiscovered  and  not  have  the  great  gun  of  the  fort 
send  its  warning  echoes  booming  through  the   woods. 

Of  the  tale  of  war  and  politics  which  kept  both  French 
and  English  in  a  turmoil  until  that  memorable  day  upon 
the  Plains  of  Abraham,  we  can  tell  but  little  here.  But 
we  may  note  that  over  in  the  Champlain  Valley  the  border 
fights  went  on  until  boys  grew  to  be  men ;  and  all  along 
the  shores  of  the  lake,  and  among  the  streams,  and 
through  the  neighboring  hills,  scouting  parties  toiled  at 
the  same  tasks  as  those  we  have  seen  busying  the  men 
at  Fort  Dummer. 

The  Tide  Turns 

The  operations  in  the  Champlain  Valley  finally  resulted 
in  the  abandonment  of  Ticonderoga,  Fort  Frederick,  and 
Chimney  Point  by  the  French  and  the  withdrawal  to 


30  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Canada  of  garrisons  and  settlers  in  1759.  This  evacua- 
tion of  the  country  west  of  the  Green  Mountains  brought 
a  sense  of  relief  to  the  frontiers  of  New  England  as  well 
as  to  those  of  New  York,  because  if  it  did  not  remove 
the  source  of  depredations  entirely,  it  put  into  friendly 
hands  possession  of  the  channel  through  which  some 
of  them  had  come.  Furthermore,  it  left  the  English 
rangers  free  to  begin  a  more  aggressive  work  in  exter- 
minating their  foe;  and  in  the  fall  of  1759  an  expedition 
was  made  for  this  purpose  which  certainly  is  entitled  to 
a  place  in  Vermont  history. 

The  leaves  were  beginning  to  change  color  and  the 
wild  fowl  to  think  of  their  southern  homes,  when  Robert 
Rogers  led  a  party  of  rangers  through  the  woods  and 
swamps  of  Canada  to  destroy  the  Indian  village  of 
St.  Francis.  This  village  lay  about  halfway  between 
Montreal  and  Quebec,  some  three  miles  back  from  the 
St.  Lawrence  River.  Here  dwelt  that  tribe  of  Indians 
which  for  three  quarters  of  a  century  had  been  the 
scourge  of  the  New  England  border. 

Setting  out  from  Crown  Point  in  whaleboats,  the  party 
managed  to  escape  the  French  vessels  which  were  still 
in  armed  activity  on  the  lake,  and  coming  to  Missis- 
quoi  Bay,  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  they  hid  their 
boats  and  some  provisions  there.  Then  they  started  on 
their  long  march  across  country,  through  tangled  swamps 
and  untrodden  ways.  Within  two  days  friendly  Indians 
overtook  Rogers  with  the  news  that  his  boats  had  been 
discovered  by  the  French.  The  party  was  said  to  num- 
ber four  hundred  men,  and  half  of  them  were  on  his 
track.      Rogers  did  not   turn   from   his    purpose.      He 


THE   FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WARS  31 

determined  to  outfoot  his  pursuers,  destroy  the  village 
as  he  had  planned,  and  escape  by  pushing  on  through 
the  woods  to  the  Connecticut  River,  instead  of  return- 
ing to  Crown  Point.  He  sent  word  to  Crown  Point 
to  have  provisions  brought  up  the  Connecticut  River  to 
the  upper  Ammonoosuc,  to  which  it  was  hoped  he  might 
bring  his  party  safely  through. 

Rogers's  own  account  of  this  expedition  was  published 
over  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago,  in  London,  and 
from  the  musty  pages  of  the  old  book  we  can  catch  a 
glimpse  or  two  of  the  story. 

The  22d.  day  after  my  departure  from  Crown  Point.  I  came 
in  sight  of  the  Indian  town  St.  Francis,  in  the  evening,  which  I 
discovered  from  a  tree  that  I  climbed,  at  about  three  miles  dis- 
tance. ...  At  half  an  hour  before  sunrise  I  surprised  the  town 
when  they  were  all  fast  asleep,  on  the  right,  left  and  center,  which 
was  done  with  so  much  alacrity  by  both  officers  and  men,  that  the 
enemy  had  not  time  to  recover  themselves  or  take  arms  for  their 
own  defence.  ...  A  little  after  sunrise  I  set  fire  to  all  their 
houses,  except  three,  in  which  there  was  corn,  that  I  reserved  for 
the  use  of  the  party.  About  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
affair  was  completely  over,  in  which  time  we  had  killed  at  least  200 
Indians  and  taken  20  of  their  women  and  children  prisoners,  15  of 
whom  I  let  go  their  own  way,  and  five  I  brought  with  me.  viz.  two 
Indian  boys  and  three  Indian  girls.  I  likewise  retook  five  English 
captives  which  I  also  took  under  my  care.  When  I  had  paraded 
my  detachment  I  found  I  had  Capt.  Ogden  badly  wounded.  .  .  . 
I  also  had  six  men  slightly  wounded  and  one  Stockbridge  Indian 
killed. 

The  hardest  part  of  his  task  was  yet  before  him.  He 
was  in  the  enemy's  country,  and  all  hope  of  return  by 
the  way  he  had  come  was  cut  off.  His  one  chance  lay 
in  getting  through  to  the  Connecticut,  and  pursuers  were 


32  HIS  IOKV    OF    VERMONT 

hot  on  his  trail.  After  much  hardship  he  reached  Lake 
Memphremagog,  but  he  dared  not  try  to  hold  the  party 
together  any  longer.  The  supply  of  corn  had  failed.  In 
order  to  enable  them  more  easily  to  sustain  themselves 
on  such  rough  fare  as  the  forest  offered,  he  divided  the 
company  there  east  of  the  lake  and  told  the  detachments 
to  assemble  at  the  Ammonoosuc,  if  they  could  reach  it. 
Then  they  parted,  taking  different  routes.  Some  were 
captured  by  the  pursuing  Indians  ;  some  were  killed  ; 
some  sick  and  starving  staggered  through  to  the  Con- 
necticut River.  His  own  party  turned  southward,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  lake,  followed  the  Barton  River  to 
Crystal  Lake,  and  went  on  over  the  summit  into  the 
Passumpsic  Valley. 

Meantime  men  with  two  canoes  laden  with  provisions 
had  made  their  way  up  the  Connecticut  River  from 
Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  then  known  as  Number 
Four,  had  come  to  Round  Island  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Passumpsic  and  camped  there.  On  the  second  morning, 
fearing  that  an  Indian  party  was  in  the  neighborhood, 
they  left  the  island  and  went  back  down  the  river,  tak- 
ing the  provisions  with  them.  At  that  moment,  but  a 
few  miles  up  the  Passumpsic,  Rogers  and  his  few  fam- 
ished stragglers  were  coming  through  the  woods.  They 
came  to  the  Connecticut  about  noon  of  the  same  day 
and  saw  the  smoke  of  the  still  smoldering  fires  of  the 
relief  party  on  the  island.  Signal  guns  were  fired.  The 
relief  party  heard  them  and  hurried  away  down  the  river 
faster  than  ever.  Making  his  way  across  to  the  island 
as  best  he  could,  Rogers  found  there  only  the  smoking 
embers. 


THE   FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WARS  33 

"It  is  hardly  possible,"  wrote  he,  "  to  describe  the 
grief  and  consternation  of  those  of  us  who  came  to  the 
Cohasse  Intervals.  Upon  our  arrival  there  after  so  many 
days'  tedious  march,  over  steep  and  rocky  mountains,  or 
through  wet,  dirty  swamps,  with  the  terrible  attendants 
of  fatigue  and  hunger,  we  found  that  here  was  no  relief 
for  us,  where  we  had  encouraged  ourselves  that  we 
should  find  it."  He  continues:  "At  length  I  came  to 
a  resolution  to  push  as  fast  as  possible  towards  Number 
Four,  leaving  the  remains  of  my  party  now  unable  to 
march  further  to  get  such  wretched  subsistence  as  the 
barren  wilderness  could  afford."  With  Captain  Ogden,  a 
ranger,  and  an  Indian  boy,  Rogers  set  out  on  a  raft  made 
of  dry  pines,  and  after  being  once  wrecked  and  under- 
going further  disasters,  at  length  reached  the  settle- 
ments more  dead  than  alive,  and  sent  back  help  to  those 
of  his  comrades  who  were  still  living. 

A  few  years  before  this  a  young  man  by  the  name 
of  John  Stark,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  more  later,  was 
captured  by  Indians  while  out  hunting  in  the  woods  on 
the  New  Hampshire  side  of  the  Connecticut  and  was 
taken  with  his  brother  and  two  companions  to  Canada  by 
much  the  same  route  that  these  half-starved  wanderers 
of  Rogers's  party  traversed.  They  went  up  the  Connect- 
icut, across  to  Lake  Memphremagog,  and  thence  into 
Canada.  Stark  showed  so  much  bravery  and  spirit  that 
he  became  a  favorite  with  his  captors  and  was  treated 
kindly. 

Between  the  time  of  Stark's  capture  and  the  great 
blow  which  Rogers  struck  at  Indian  power  the  settlers 
of  New  England  carried  on  a  more  or  less  persistent  and 


34  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

systematic  warfare  against  the  Indians.  The  government 
of  Massachusetts  offered  a  reward  for  every  Indian  killed 
or  captured  ;  and  ranging  parties  scoured  the  woods 
between  the  Connecticut  and  Hudson  rivers,  and  as  far 
north  as  Black  River. 

Companies  of  thirty  or  more  men  would  take  their 
course  through  the  woods,  marching  either  in  divisions 
or  by  one  common  route  through  thickly  wooded  up- 
lands, over  jagged  hills  and  steep  mountains,  across 
foaming  rivers  or  beside  gravel-bedded  brooks.  They 
adopted  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare  and  beat  the  Indi- 
ans at  it.  Nerve,  capacity  for  endurance,  courage,  and 
unfailing  marksmanship  were  trained  in  those  days  of 
forest  ranging.  What  better  stuff  for  peopling  this 
state,  for  battling  with  the  forests,  and  for  building  up 
the  homes,  could  there  be  than  the  men  who  had  thus 
wrenched  it  from  the  savagery  of  border  wars  and  gained 
their  schooling  at  the  hands  of  Nature  ? 

Spying  out  the   Land 

From  such  accounts  as  Rogers  left  and  from  the  pages 
of  Colonel  Kellogg's  journal  we  can  see  one  thing  very 
clearly.  If  men  were  not  settling  in  the  wilderness,  they 
were  at  least  finding  out  a  great  deal  about  it,  so  that 
when  days  of  peace  and  quiet  should  come  men  would 
know  where  it  was  good  to  go  and  settle.  The  work  of 
the  rangers  was  something  like  that  of  the  spies  whom 
Moses  sent  to  search  the  land  of  Canaan  before  the 
children  of  Israel  went  into  it. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  best  service  of  the  scouting  parties. 
They  did  not  harm  the  French  much;  they  did  not  harm 


THE   FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WARS  35 

the  Indians  much ;  they  alarmed  them ;  and  they  helped 
a  little  in  the  work  of  carrying  out  the  great  English 
policy  :  but  the  great  fact  is,  they  made  known  the  land. 
It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  our  colonists 
settled  this  affair  between  England  and  France.  It  was 
not  fought  out  altogether  in  the  New  World;  and  what 
the  ransrers  did  toward  it  in  the  Green  Mountains  we 
can  dismiss  with  few  words.  But  we  do  need  to  think  a 
great  deal  about  this  work  of  theirs  in  finding  what  the 
land  truly  was  ;  for  behind  every  homestead  that  was 
ever  taken  up  and  carved  out  of  this  wilderness  there  lay 
a  good  and  sufficient  reason,  and  we  cannot  understand 
the  history  of  our  state  unless  we  think  of  these  things. 

Many  of  the  names  given  in  these  records  are  the 
same  that  we  use  to-day  for  the  same  streams  and 
places.  You  could  follow  many  of  the  courses  which 
the  rangers  took,  as  the  historian  Parkman  when  a 
college  student  tramped  over  the  route  of  Rogers,  from 
Lake  Memphremagog  to  the  Connecticut  River. 

Think  how  much  could  be  learned  on  those  swift, 
silent  forest  trips,  —  where  the  timber  lay,  and  all  the 
different  kinds  which  grew,  maple,  birch,  beech,  oak, 
ash,  cedar,  spruce,  hemlock,  pines,  and  all  the  rest. 
Very  many  pines  there  were  in  those  days,  and  noble 
ones  too,  so  noble  that  the  king  of  England  said  that 
they  must  be  marked  and  saved  for  masts  and  spars  to 
go  in  his  royal  navy.  Then,  too,  from  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  where  parties  lay  whiling  away  the  hours 
watching  for  "  smoaks "  of  Indian  camp  fires,  many 
things  besides  smokes  would  be  seen.  You  could  not 
help  seeing  them,   watching  so  sharply  in  all  directions 


36  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

for  smokes,  —  the  contour  of  the  land,  for  instance  ;  the 
courses  of  streams  through  the  valleys;  and  here  and 
there  a  bit  of  interval  or  stretch  of  beaver  meadow, 
where  a  settler  could  cut  the  first  hay  for  his  cattle  to 
last  through  the  winter  before  his  own  land  was  cleared. 

On  those  long  journeys  what  woodcraft  secrets  would 
the  forest  farer  learn  !  What  little  joys  of  discovery 
would  come  to  him  every  hour  of  the  day !  He  would 
learn  where  the  deer  yarded  on  the  mountain,  or  browsed 
in  the  timber,  or  came  down  to  the  water  in  favorite 
runways.  He  would  find  which  slopes  the  moose  loved 
best.  He  would  note  the  track  of  the  bear  and  the 
curious  work  of  the  beaver.  He  would  learn  how  far  up 
the  streams  the  salmon  ran  to  their  spawning  beds  ;  he 
would  learn  where  the  trout  were  always  plentiful  ;  and 
he  would  never  forget  where  the  water,  choking  up  in 
a  narrow  channel  and  leaping  over  the  rocks,  would  let 
a  settler  build  the  first  mill  to  saw  logs  or  grind  grain. 

When  the  corn  that  was  planted  at  the  fort  had 
ripened  in  the  summer's  sun,  and  the  grass  had  turned 
sere  and  brown  on  the  marshes,  and  crimson  and  gold 
leaves  were  carpeting  the  forest,  then  it  was  time  to 
think  of  the  fall  hunt.  Then  deer  were  fat  and  sleek 
and  venison  was  sweetest.  Then  the  tongue  and  steak 
of  Bruin  replenished  the  larder.  The  crackling  fires 
of  winter  must  be  provided  for  and  many  a  sturdy  oak, 
maple,  and  birch  laid  low  for  the  blaze  of  the  great 
fireplace.  When  of  an  evening  the  men  recounted 
their  tales  around  the  hearth,  what  wonder  that  the 
passion  of  the  wilderness  grew  upon  them !  What 
wonder  that   when   peace   came  and  they  were   free  at 


THE   FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WARS  37 

last  from  their  enemy,  the  voices  of  the  forest  called 
them  back  to  claim  as  their  own  the  wilderness  from 
which  they  had  driven  their  foe  !  It  was  theirs  now, 
this  wilderness  teeming  with  game,  these  lands  where 
the  Indian  had  hunted,  these  streams  where  he  had 
fished.  It  was  the  white  man's  now,  to  enter  in  and 
possess. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 

Ryegate,  Feb.  7,  1774. 
We  have  now  built  a  house  and  live  very  comfortably  though  we 
are  not  much  troubled  with  our  neighbors.  .  .  .  In  the  township  above 
us  (Bamet)  there  are  about  fifteen  families,  and  in  the  township  below 
(Newbury)  about  sixty.  .  .  .  There  are  some  settlers  sixty  miles  beyond 
us  on  the  river.  There  are  no  settlers  to  the  west  of  us  till  you  come 
to  Lake  Champlain.  There  is  a  road  now  begun  to  be  cut  from  Con- 
necticut River  to  the  lake,  which  goes  through  the  middle  of  our  pur- 
chase, and  is  reasoned  to  be  a  considerable  advantage  to  us,  as  it  will 
be  the  chief  post  road  to  Canada.  .  .  .  We  have  a  grist  mill  within 
six  miles  of  us,  and  a  saw-mill  within  two  and  a  half.  We  know 
nothing  of  the  hardship  of  settling  a  new  place,  for  the  first  settlers  in 
the  town  below,  only  ten  years  ago,  had  not  a  neighbor  nearer  than 
sixty  miles,  and  the  nearest  mill  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
down  the  river.  The  people  here  are  hospitable,  social,  and  decent. 
One  thing  I  know,  that  here  they  are  very  strict  in  keeping  the 
Sabbath.  —  Extracts  from  a  letter  of  General  Whitelaio  to  his  father 
in  Scotland. 

Roads  in  the  Woods 

The  military  operations  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
French  and  Indian  wars  served  another  purpose  than 
that  of  a  training  school  for  settlers.  They  opened  up 
better  roadways  than  the  dim  trails  of  the  Indians  or 
the  blazed  paths  of  white  men.  Rude  roads  they  would 
seem  to  this  age  of  graded  highways,  railroads,  elec- 
tric trolleys,  and  pneumatic  tires  ;  even  in  old  stage- 
coach days,  when  wagon  springs  were  rarer  and  leather 
thorough-braces  were  a  luxury,  they  would  have  seemed 
poor  ;  but  they  were  first  steps,  and  we  must  not  overlook 
them  or  deem  them  of  slight  importance. 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL  39 

The  course  of  the  old  Indian  road  was  first  made 
public  by  the  diary  of  a  traveler  who  passed  over  it 
from  Fort  Dummer  to  Lake  Champlain  in  1730.  The 
government  of  Massachusetts  wanted  to  ascertain  the 
exact  course  of  this  Indian  thoroughfare,  and  obtained 
from  James  Cross  the  diary  of  his  journal  for  this  pur- 
pose.     It  runs  as  follows  : 

Monday,  ye  27th.  April,  1730,  at  about  twelve  of  ye  clock 
we  left  Fort  Dummer,  and  travailed  that  day  three  miles,  and 
lay  down  that  night  by  West  River,  which  is  three  miles  distant 
from  Fort  Dummer.  Notabene.  I  travailed  with  twelve  Canady 
Mohawks  that  drank  to  great  excess  at  ye  fort  and  killed  a  Scata- 
cook  Indian  in  their  drunken  condition,  that  came  to  smoke  with 
them. 

Tuesday.     We  travailed  upon  the  great  River  1  about  ten  miles. 

Wednesday.  We  kept  up  ye  same  course  upon  ye  great  River, 
travailed  about  ten  miles,  and  eat  a  drowned  Buck  that  night. 

Thursday.  We  travailed  upon  the  great  River  within  two 
miles  of  ye  Great  Falls-  in  said  River,  then  we  went  upon  Land 
to  the  Black  River  above  ye  Great  Falls,  went  up  in  that  River 
and  lodged  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  mouth  of  Black 
River,  which  day's  travail  we  judged  was  about  ten  miles. 

Fryday.  We  cross  Black  River  at  ye  Falls,3  afterwards  trav- 
ail through  ye  woods  N.N.W..  then  cross  Black  River  again  about 
17  miles  above  our  first  crossing,  afterwards  travailed  ye  same 
course,  and  pitched  our  tent  upon  ye  homeward  side  of  Black  River. 

Saturday.  WTe  crossed  Black  River,  left  a  great  mountain  on 
ye  right  hand  and  another  on  ye  left.4  Keep  a  N.W.  course  till 
we  pitch  our  tent  after  1 1  miles  travail  by  a  Brook  which  we  called 
a  branch  of  Black  River. 

Sabbath  Day.  .  .  .  We  travail  to  Black  River.  At  three 
islands,  between  which  and  a  large  pound  we  past  ye  River,  enter 

1  Connecticut  River.  8  Center  Village  in  town  of  Springfield. 

2  Bellows  Falls.  *  In  the  township  of  Ludlow. 


40  HISTORY   OF   VERMONT 

a  mountain  that  afforded  us  a  prospect  of  ye  place  of  Fort  Dum- 
mer.  Soon  after  we  enter  a  descending  country,  and  travail  till  we 
arrive  at  Arthur  Creek1  in  a  descending  land.  In  this  day's  trav- 
ail which  is  21  miles,  we  came  upon  seven  Brooks  which  run  a 
S.W.  course  at  ye  north  end  of  ye  said  Mountain.  From  Black 
River  to  Arthur  Creek  we  judge  is  25  miles. 

Monday.     Made  Canoes. 

Tuesday.     Hindered  travailing  by  rain. 

Wednesday.  We  go  in  our  Canoes  upon  Arthur  Creek,  till 
we  meet  two  great  falls  in  said  River.2  Said  River  is  very  Black 
and  deep  and  surrounded  with  good  land  to  ye  extremity  of  our 
prospect.     This  day's  travail  35  miles. 

Thursday.  We  sail  40  miles  in  Arthur  Creek.  We  meet  with 
great  Falls,3  and  a  little  below  them  we  meet  with  two  other  great 
Falls,4  and  about  10  miles  below  ye  said  Falls  we  meet  two  other 
pretty  large  Falls.5  We  carryd  our  Canoes  by  these  Falls  and 
come  to  ye  Lake."  fi 

Eighteen  years  later  Captain  Eleazer  Melvin  with 
eighteen  men  in  his  command  set  out  on  a  military 
expedition  from  Fort  Dummer  through  the  wilderness 
toward  Crown  Point.  He  followed  much  the  same 
route  that  Cross  had  taken,  and  he  too  left  a  journal 
of  the  road.  We  can  locate  the  places  which  he  de- 
scribes, in  the  same  way  that  we  have  located  those  of 
the  earlier  narrative. 

They  started  from  Fort  Dummer  May  13,  1748,  went 

1  Otter  Creek.  2  Probably  in  the  town  of  Rutland. 

3  Middlebury  Falls.  4  Weybridge.  5  Vergennes. 

6  This  is  the  diary  of  James  Cross  (or  Coss)  of  his  journey  from 
Fort  Dummer  to  Lake  Champlain,  made  in  April  and  May,  1730.  I 
am  indebted  to  B.  H.  Hall,  History  of  Eastern  Vermont,  I,  21-23,  for  it, 
never  having  seen  it  elsewhere  in  print.  It  is  probable  that  Hall  took 
it  from  the  original  manuscript  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
Massachusetts,  A  xxxviii,  126,  127. — E.  D.  C. 


|  4  o    N.B  Connecticut  River  has  been  actually  sur- 
vey d  no  further  than  to  the  Great  Inter- 
vals,  but   the   course  of  the  River  in  gen- 
eral  thro  these   Intervales  has  been, 
set  by    Compass.    &    the  length    of 
CohaSS    is   here    drazvn    according  >»     y~ 


K       ^StamfcTi  [Halifax  JGuiKonJ 

iJSJh  i  s_L  i  ne  ;i  s_t  he_B  0  U  N  DAR  Y 
Hudson-s  Rive?   to   CoWcttTcut  "Kiw"'lTK^tonnecn£7 
/  vdsUfeasured  56  Mites  -60 Poles.        \  J       """V  y 

f/Jx  {  \m  H»l*  Massachusels 


Province    of    Massachusets    Bay 


?'~ 


VERMONT  at  the  Close  of  the  French   and  Indian    Wars 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


41 


up  the  Connecticut  to  Number  Four,  then  followed  the 
Black  River.  On  the  19th  they  crossed  several  large 
streams  that  were  branches  of  the  Otter  Creek.  They 
saw  many  signs  of  the  enemy,  both  new  and  old,  such 
as  camps  and  girdled  trees.  On  the  20th  they  marched 
over  Otter  Creek  and  around  Sutherland  Falls.  Far- 
ther on  they  found  several  camps  of  the  previous  winter 
and  beaten  paths  made  by  the  enemy.  On  the  24th 
they  came  upon  a  camp  fenced  in  with  a  very  thick 
fence,  and  found  there  a  keg  of  about  four  gallons' 
capacity  which  had  been  recently  emptied  of  wine,  as 
the  smell  indicated,  and  about  twelve  pounds  of  good 
French  bread.  They  reached  Champlain  on  the  28th, 
had  a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  Indians,  and  began  a 
retreat,  pursued  by  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the 
enemy.  They  came  to  Otter  Creek  in  the  town  of 
Pittsford,  about  a  mile  below  Sutherland  Falls,  marched 
to  Center  Rutland  and  camped.  Before  reaching  Fort 
Dummer  they  had  another  skirmish  and  the  party  was 
scattered,  four  men  killed,  one  wounded,  and  one  taken 
prisoner. 

The  campaigns  after  1755  confined  active  hostilities 
to  Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George,  and  in  1759  an 
especially  good  opportunity  came  to  begin  the  work  of 
widening  out  the  paths  to  accommodate  more  than  trav- 
elers by  foot.  General  Amherst  had  with  him  at  Crown 
Point  before  that  year  closed  a  large  number  of  men 
from  the  New  Fngland  provinces. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  the  New  Hampshire 
and  Massachusetts  troops  had  gone  to  Ticonderoga 
by  way  of  Albany  and  Lake  George.      You  can  see  by 


42  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

looking  on  a  map  that  this  route  might  have  been 
shortened  if  they  had  been  sure  of  an  easy  road  across 
the  southern  part  of  what  is  now  Vermont.  But  they 
were  not  sure  of  it.  Some  Massachusetts  soldiers  who 
tried  to  take  a  short  cut  home,  after  their  service  was 
over,  got  lost  and  had  to  camp  in  territory  that  they 
had  never  seen  before.  We  shall  hear  more  about  it 
later,  but  it  is  worthy  of  mention  here  because  it  shows 
what  a  fine  thing  a  road  would  have  been. 

Early  in  1756  the  government  of  Massachusetts  voted 
to  survey  a  road  from  Number  Four  through  the  woods 
to  Crown  Point,  on  the  New  York  side  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  This  road  was  designed  to  follow  the  course  of 
the  Otter  Creek,  after  it  had  crossed  the  mountains  and 
reached  a  point  on  that  stream.  The  instructions  which 
were  given  for  making  the  survey  show  that  it  would  be 
a  good  thing  for  persons  who  intended  to  settle  in  its 
vicinity.  Those  who  made  the  survey  were  to  observe 
"the  true  course  of  said  creek,  its  depth  of  water,  what 
falls  there  are  in  it,  and  also  the  nature  of  the  soil  on 
each  side  thereof,  and  what  growth  of  woods  is  near  it." 
These  are  the  very  things  which  intending  settlers  would 
wish  to  know. 

This  road  was  surveyed  and  actually  cut  through  in 
1 759  ;  and  our  friend  John  Stark,  whom  we  left  in  cap- 
tivity among  the  Indians  in  Canada,  is  again  heard  of, 
working  on  this  road  with  two  hundred  rangers  from 
New  Hampshire.  One  could  go  on  this  road  from  the 
Connecticut  River  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  with 
wagons  and  thence  with  pack  horses  to  Rutland.  Now 
we   have   seen   that   this   road    followed   the   course   of 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


43 


a  famous  old  Indian  trail,  and  have  taken  some  pains 
to  trace  the  growing  familiarity  of  white  men  with  it 
because  it  illustrates  the  method  of  the  early  settlers 

Such  routes  were  the  most 


in  coming  into  the  state 


The  Old  Military  Road  near  Clarendon 

available  and  easiest  of  access,  and  their  nearness  to 
streams  gave  the  settlers  that  direct  assistance  of  nature 
which  was  a  prime  requisite  for  their  progress,  water 
power  for  the  first  mills. 

As  soon  as  enough  settlements  had  been  made  to 
form  town  and  county  organizations,  we  find  that  acts 
were  passed  to  provide  for  the  opening  up  of  roads  so 
that  the  different  towns  could  communicate  with  each 
other  more  easily.  In  1766  an  act  was  passed  "for 
laying  out,  regulating,  and  keeping  in  repair,  common 
and  public  highways."  This  was  in  Cumberland  County, 
which  you  will  not  find  on  the  map,  because  it  was  long 


44  HIS  TORY    OF    VERMONT 

ago  divided,  most  of  it  going  to  form  Windham  and 
Windsor  counties.  But  such  an  act  meant  a  good  deal 
for  the  people  of  Cumberland  County  then.  We  find  by 
this  act  that  each  town  was  to  have  three  commissioners 
for  laying  out  roads,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  each  town 
were  to  work  on  their  roads  six  days  in  the  year.  The 
roads  were  to  be  not  less  than  two  and  not  over  four  rods 
wide.  So  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  way  in  which  the  first 
towns  set  about  making  their  highways,  and  also  learn  how 
the  old  custom  of  "working  out  your  highway  tax"  arose. 

While  on  this  subject  of  early  road  building  we  may 
as  well  take  notice  of  another  road  which,  although  built 
some  twenty  years  later,  served  exactly  the  same  pur- 
pose in  the  northern  part  of  the  state  as  this  road 
from  Crown  Point  to  Number  Four  did  in  the  southern. 
That  was  the  so-called  Hazen  road,  built  in  the  time 
of  the  American  Revolution.  It  was  not  begun  by  Gen- 
eral Hazen  at  all,  although  it  was  afterward  named  for 
him,  but  by  a  General  Bailey,  who  was  at  Newbury  in  the 
spring  of  1776  and  who  was  ordered  to  open  a  road  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Wells  River  to  St.  John's,  Canada.  It 
was  designed  for  military  purposes  ;  but  as  the  American 
troops  found  it  necessary  to  leave  Canada  with  all  con- 
venient speed  in  that  same  year,  the  road  was  destined 
to  serve  the  ends  of  peace,  which  after  all  are  better 
than  those  of  war. 

So  the  road  was  stopped  for  the  time  being  at 
Peacham.  It  was  there  that  General  Hazen  took  up 
the  work  three  years  later.  He  carried  it  on  through 
Cabot,  Walden,  Hardwick,  Greensboro,  Craftsbury,  and 
Albany,  to  Lowell,   where  he  left  it  at  a  jagged  cleft 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL  45 

in  the  soapstone  rocks  which  goes  to  this  day  by  the 
name  of  Hazen's  Notch.  Blockhouses  were  built  along 
the  way  and  doubtless  served  many  a  traveler  as  shelter 
for  the  night.  When  settlers  began  to  come  in  greater 
numbers,  after  the  Revolution,  branches  from  the  main 
road  were  built  to  various  towns,  such  as  those  to  Dan- 
ville and  St.  Johnsbury.  In  1794  and  1795  a  road  was 
built  from  the  Hazen  road  in  Greensboro  through  Glover, 
Barton,  Brownington,  and  Salem  to  Derby.  Sometimes 
it  seems  that  people  will  do  more  for  the  sake  of  war  than 
they  will  for  the  sake  of  peace;  but  in  the  matter  of  road 
building  we  cannot  complain.  There  are  few  military 
measures  which  are  productive  of  such  direct  and  perma- 
nent benefits.  This  road,  which  did  not  amount  to  any- 
thing for  the  war,  was  worth  a  great  deal  to  the  incoming 
settlers  and  to  the  state  in  serving  the  ends  of  peace. 

It  was  during  the  war,  also,  that  the  first  road  was 
opened  from  Mount  Independence  on  Lake  Champlain 
through  Hubbardton  to  Center  Rutland.  A  road  was 
also  made  from  Clarendon  through  Rutland  to  Pittsford  ; 
and  one  of  the  most  important  highways  in  the  state  for 
years  was  the  road  built  from  Rutland  through  Castleton 
and  Fairhaven  to  Whitehall. 

We  must  remember  also  the  great  service  of  those 
water  courses  and  larger  streams  which  offered  smooth 
passage  to  canoe  or  laden  boat.  The  Connecticut  was 
such  a  stream  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  state ;  it  served 
the  settlers  now  as  unresistingly  as  it  had  the  genera- 
tions of  red  men  in  the  past.  On  the  western  side  of 
the  mountains  there  were  the  great  tributaries  of  Cham- 
plain  enticing  people  into  the  heart  of  the  country. 


46  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

Having  taken  notice  of  some  of  the  ways  of  entering 
the  wilderness,  let  us  now  turn  to  the  people  who  came 
and  see  what  their  work  was. 

First  Settlements 

The  results  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  from  1744 
to  1749  had  been  the  driving  of  the  English  from  every 
fort  and  settlement  in  what  is  now  our  state,  with  the 
single  exception  of  Fort  Dummer.  The  result  of  the  war 
from  1755  to  1760  was  the  driving  of  the  French  from 
every  fort  and  settlement  of  theirs  within  the  Champlain 
Valley.  While  we  cannot  expect  to  find  permanent  set- 
tlements within  the  state  previous  to  1749,  we  may  he 
prepared  to  find  a  rapid  inflow  of  settlers  after  1760.  In 
fact,  at  that  date  a  few  settlements  had  been  made 
between  the  Massachusetts  line  and  Bellows  Falls, 
scattered  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Connecticut. 

When  we  compare  this  real  beginning  of  the  history 
of  our  state  with  that  of  the  states  just  south  of  us,  we 
realize  with  startling  vividness  how  young  we  really  are. 
Massachusetts  was  as  old  when  the  battle  of  Bennington 
was  fought  as  our  state  is  to-day.  That  is,  in  lapse  of 
time  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  had  longer  histories 
previous  to  that  event  than  Vermont  has  had  since.  The 
founding  of  the  first  permanent  settlement  within  the 
state  stands  almost  exactly  halfway  between  the  landing 
of  the  Pilgrims  and  the  present  day. 

As  we  begin  to  watch  the  progress  of  the  settlement 
of  the  state  we  shall  find  that  our  attention  will  be 
drawn  west  of  the  mountains  and  that  our  interest  will 
fasten  with  a  peculiar  fascination  on  one  particular  place. 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL  47 

Bennington  is  the  pivotal  point  in  Vermont's  history. 
Her  record  has  the  charm  of  romance.  Her  site  was 
discovered  by  accident  ;  her  settlement  was  the  first 
one  made  west  of  the  Green  Mountains  ;  hers  was  the 
first  grant  of  Governor  Benning  Wentworth  in  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants  ;  she  was  the  first  chartered  town  in 
the  state  ;  she  was  the  center  of  excitement  in  the  dis- 
pute with  New  York  ;  her  old  Catamount  Tavern  was 
the  rendezvous  of  the  Green  Mountain  boys ;  her  name 
marks  a  memorable  battle. 

A  Connecticut  captain  returning  from  service  in  the 
French  and  Indian  wars  thought  to  shorten  his  route 
home  by  taking  a  more  direct  course  than  that  by  way 
of  Albany.  His  route  for  this  purpose  should  have 
been  from  Lake  George  up  the  Hoosac  River  as  far 
as  Williamstown,  Massachusetts,  and  thence  across  the 
mountains  to  his  own  state.  But  he  mistook  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  river  for  the  main  stream,  and  did  not 
discover  the  mistake  until  he  had  gone  well  up  toward 
the  mountain  without  having  passed  the  Hoosac  forts. 
He  then  correctly  reasoned  that  he  was  in  the  Wal- 
loomsac  Valley  instead  of  the  Hoosac.  So  he  camped 
for  the  night.  The  next  morning  he  turned  southward 
toward  Williamstown  and  made  his  way  safely  home. 
But  the  sight  he  had  seen  pleased  his  eyes,  and  he  was 
not  content  till  he  had  purchased  rights  in  the  township 
and  had  interested  friends  and  acquaintances  to  join  him 
in  emigrating  to  this  new  land. 

The  grant  of  the  town  had  been  made  as  early  as 
1749,  but  the  proprietors,  like  many  other  grantees,  did 
not  settle  on  their  land  themselves,  but  sold  out  their 


48  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

risrhts  and  interests  to  others  who  wished  to  move  in  as 
actual  settlers.  Bounties  were  offered  for  the  building 
of  the  first  gristmill  and  the  first  sawmill,  those  "mod- 
ern conveniences "  of  early  settlers.  The  settlement 
began  in  1761,  in  early  summer,  when  a  part}'  of  twenty- 
two  emigrants,  numbering  among  them  women  and  chil- 
dren, came  on  horseback  over  the  mountains,  passed  the 
Hoosac  forts,  and  arrived  in  the  promised  land  on  the 
1 8th  of  June. 

The  first  year  was  like  that  of  many  another  settle- 
ment, a  year  of  privation  and  hardship.  But  more 
settlers  followed,  coming  up  from  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  built  houses,  barns,  and  mills,  worked  the 
roads,  and  established  schools,  until  in  1765  Bennington, 
thus  named  for  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire  who 
made  the  grant,  was  a  thriving  little  town.  A  beginning 
had  been  successfully  made,  life  in  the  wilderness  was 
safe,  apparently,  from  any  human  foe,  hopes  were  high, 
and  the  tide  of  emigration  set  strongly  in  this  direction. 
This  much  for  the  settlement  of  the  town  ;  we  shall 
hear  more  of  it  presently  in   other  ways. 

If  we  turn  back  once  more  to  the  days  when  Lord 
Amherst  occupied  Crown  Point,  we  shall  find  that  one 
of  his  Connecticut  soldiers,  Benjamin  Kellogg  by  name, 
was  in  the  habit  of  coming  frequently  to  the  Vermont 
side  of  the  lake,  to  the  salt  licks  at  Panton,  to  shoot  deer. 
It  is  said  that  he  supplied  venison  to  the  officers  of  the 
garrison  at  the  fortress.  However  this  may  have  been, 
after  the  army  was  disbanded  in  1760,  and  the  provincials 
returned  home,  this  man  continued  to  come  for  his  annual 
fall  hunt  at  the  salt  licks.     Then  returning  home  he  wrould 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL  49 

tell  his  neighbors  of  the  place  where  he  hunted  deer 
and  what  chances  there  were  here  and  there  for  settlers 
to  pitch.  Finally,  in  the  fall  of  1765,  there  came  with 
him  one  John  Strong  seeking  a  place  for  a  home  in  the 
wilderness. 

Three  settlers  in  the  previous  spring  had  also  come  to 
begin  a  clearing  about  three  miles  north  of  Chimney 
Point,  where  the  little  stone  fort  had  been.  These  men 
were  working  there  when  Kellogg  and  Strong  came  into 
the  country  ;  so  the  latter  made  them  a  neighborly  call, 
looked  over  the  little  clearing  which  represented  their 
summer's  work,  helped  them  sow  their  wheat,  and  then 
took  a  look  at  the  country  to  the  eastward.  They  finally 
returned  to  the  lake,  and  Strong  decided  to  build  there. 
He  chose  the  location  of  an  old  French  house  as  the 
site  of  his  dwelling,  and  thus  saved  himself  the  trouble 
of  digging  a  cellar  and  building  a  chimney.  The  three 
settlers  requited  his  assistance  to  them  by  helping  him 
put  up  the  cabin. 

In  such  ways  the  land  became  known  and  attracted 
the  more  adventurous  spirits  in  the  older  colonies,  until 
one  by  one  or  in  little  groups  they  had  scattered  over 
the  state  as  far  north  as  the  Cohasse  intervals,  where 
the  Indians  had  planted  corn  while  their  captives  starved 
in  the  days  of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 

It  was  not  strange  that  the  Cohasse  intervals,  or 
Coos  meadows,  as  they  were  sometimes  called,  should 
attract  settlers.  They  lay  accessible  on  the  well-known 
waters  of  the  Connecticut  ;  they  had  long  been  known 
to  captives,  and  rangers  had  more  than  once  passed 
through  them  ;  they  had  been  used  for  years,  perhaps 


50  HISTORY    OF    VKRMON  1 

for  generations,  by  the  Indians  as  maize  fields  ;  and  the 
broad  meadows,  already  cleared  and  covered  with  a  rank 
growth  of  wild  grass,  were  a  standing  invitation  to  the 
settlers  who  should  first  deem  it  safe  to  move  in  after 
the  Indians  had  moved  out.  The  broad  river  offered  a 
highway  thither,  and  as  early  as  1762  a  few  families 
ventured  up  the  river  and  settled  on  opposite  banks. 
The  nearest  neighbors  were  at  Charlestown,  sixty  miles 
south.  Thence  the  newcomers  brought  supplies  by  boat 
in  summer,  on  the  ice  in  winter.  The  settlement  grew, 
and  by  the  year  1 765  Newbury  was  a  well-organized  town. 
The  neighbors  southward  had  so  multiplied  that  there 
was  scarcely  a  town  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  that  did 
not  have  a  little  group  of  pioneers.  Benning  Wentworth 
had  been  busy. 

We  might  go  on  narrating  the  stories  of  the  settling 
of  other  towns  here  and  there,  Bellows  Falls,  Windsor, 
Manchester,  Guildhall,  Middlebury,  Vergennes,  Rutland, 
Burlington,  St.  Albans, — all  settled  before  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  By  the  year  1765  Governor  Went- 
worth had  made  grants  of  no  less  than  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  townships.  The  course  of  settlement  was 
not  as  it  is  now,  when  cities  spring  from  the  plain  in  a 
day,  and  railroads  carry  westward  between  sunrise  and 
sunset  people  enough  to  populate  our  state.  Men  were 
few  in  the  colonies  ;  capital  was  scarce  ;  and  people  did 
not  rush  then  as  they  rush  now.  But  the  traveler  along 
the  widening  trail  would  see  with  growing  frequency  the 
rising  smoke  from  the  solitary  cabin  of  some  newcomer, 
would  hear  the  sound  of  the  plumping-mill  at  the  time 
of  morning,  noon,  or  evening  meal,  and  would  catch  the 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL  5 1 

sound  of  the  ax  as  it  struck  at  the  heart  of  the  timber 
along  the  gentler  slopes  of  the  hills  or  in  the  valleys 
which  nestled  high  up  among  the  mountains. 

Life  in  the  Wilderness 

If  the  traveler,  although  a  stranger,  had  entered  one  of 
those  cabins,  he  would  have  been  welcomed  with  a  hospi- 
tality which  the  present  generation  reserves  for  its  partic- 
ular friends.  There  was  a  purer  democracy,  a  greater 
community  of  interests,  and  a  nearer  approach  to  equality 
among  men  than  this  state  or  this  country  will  ever  see 
again.  When  the  population  of  a  town  consisted  of  one 
individual,  as  was  sometimes  the  case,  it  enjoyed  com- 
parative freedom  from  the  dangers  of  plutocracy,  from 
the  antagonism  of  the  classes  and  the  masses,  and  from 
the  menace  of  organized  labor.  When  every  guest  bore 
in  himself  the  possibility  of  becoming  a  distinct  addition 
to  the  social  and  laboring  force  of  the  community,  and 
when  if  he  were  only  a  passer-by  he  was  like  a  touch 
from  the  outside  world,  there  were  too  potent  reasons  for 
entertaining  him  to  allow  of  his  being  lightly  dismissed. 

There  were  a  great  many  personal  questions  to  be 
asked  and  answered,  if  there  were  no  great  public  ques- 
tions to  be  discussed  ;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  few 
travelers  ran  the  gauntlet  of  such  inquisition  without  giv- 
ing some  account  of  themselves  more  or  less  truthful. 
It  must  have  been  in  those  days  that  the  far-famed  and 
long-lived  Yankee  inquisitiveness  was  born.  As  for 
public  questions,  there  were  plenty  of  them.  From  the 
beginning  of  the  dispute  over  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  to  the  close  of  the  War  of  1 8 1 2  there  were  few 


52 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


days  when  the  people  of  the  state  did  not  have  before 
them  public  questions  as  vital  to  the  integrity  of  Ver- 
mont and  as  insistent  upon  imme- 
diate solution  as  any  they  have- 
ever  known.  This  period  of  time 
would  cover  the  events  of  the 
Revolution,  which  brought  Bur- 
goyne  into  such  unpleasant  prox- 
imity, the  period  in  which  out- 
state  was  maintaining  herself  as 
an  independent  republic,  the  em- 
bargo times,  and  the  War  of  18 1 2 

—  certainly  enough  for  one  gen- 
eration of  men. 

Another  habit  than  inquisitive- 
ness  was  then  born  of  necessity 
among  the  farmers  of  our  state, 

—  and  practically  every  man  was 
then  a  farmer,  —  and  that  was  the  habit  of  incessant 
labor  from  dawn  to  dark.  Along  with  the  habit  was 
cultivated  the  capacity  for  it.  When  every  man  must 
provide  for  himself  and  his  family  everything  from 
the  building  in  which  they  dwelt  to  the  food  with 
which  they  fed  their  bodies  and  the  clothes  which  they 
put  upon  their  backs,  there  was  little  room  for  idleness 
and  small  place  for  a  man  whose  hand  knew  no  cunning 
or  did  not  possess  a  diversified  and  manifold  skill.  The 
home  of  the  early  settler  in  Vermont  was  as  nearly  self- 
sufficing  as  the  necessities  of  an  isolated  situation  and 
his  own  fertile  inventiveness  could  make  it.  That  is, 
it  produced  what  it  consumed  to  a  remarkable  degree. 


Old  Wooden*  Churn 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


53 


It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  this  respect  it  was  nearer 
the  manor  of  mediaeval  times  than  like  the  farm  life 
of  to-day. 

Modern  industrial  organization  has  reached  modern 
farm  life  in  all  its  phases  and  made  it  dependent  in  a 
thousand  different  ways.  Take  away  transportation,  take 
away  markets,  take  away  every  machine-made  thing,  and 
you  would  throw  us  a  long  way  back  toward  feudal  times. 
In  clothing,  in  food,  in  shelter,  in  household  goods,  in 
farming  tools,  nothing  was  then  bought  that  could  be 
made.  Little  money  was  seen,  little  was  needed  ;  for 
clothing  was  made  at  home  ;  the  forest  and  the  pigpen 
furnished  meat  ;  tolls  were  taken  at  the  mills  for  grind- 
ing grain;  taxes  were  worked  out  or  paid  "in  kind." 
Vermont  taxes  were  light  anyway.  If  a  farmer  raised 
more  grain  than  he  needed  for  his  own  use,  he  could 
exchange  it  for  labor,  which  was  more  serviceable  to  him 
than  cash. 

Let  us  look  a  little 
more  closely  at  the 
principal  features  of 
this  life.  The  con- 
ditions here  por- 
trayed are  truly  typ- 
ical, though  they 
would  not  all  be 
present  in  every 
community,  and  pos- 
sibly not  all  in  any  single  settlement. 

We  have  already  noticed  one  instance  of  settlers 
going  into  the  wilderness,   clearing  land  for  their  first 


fc 

1                        nURU  ... 

'tiUiiO^l 

\                         ■  •_.   -    N    ■ 

*sf 

■Gfiii 

r 

Winnowing  Basket 


54 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


crops,  sowing  wheat,  building  a  cabin,  and  thus  laying  in 
various  ways  the  foundations  of  their  new  home  before 
they  took  their  families  there  to  live.  The  hardships  of 
frontier  life  were  lightened  greatly  when  this  could  be 
done;  for  a  single  favorable  season  might  suffice  to  rear 
a  little  one-room  cabin  of  logs,  and  secure  grain  enough 
from  the  mellow  soil  of  the  clearing  to  keep  the  house- 
hold alive  while  the  next 
year's  crops  were  growing. 
Then,  if  the  settler  could 
take  with  him  on  his  second 
trip,  in  the  following  spring, 
a  cow,  a  pig,  and  some  poul- 
try, he  would  make  the  con- 
ditions of  life  quite  tolerable 
for  his  wife  and  children 
from  the  start. 

There  were  plenty,  how- 
ever, who  began  life  under 
no  such  favorable  circum- 
stances. Men  and  women 
went  bravely  into  the  forest 
with  little  but  stout  hearts, 
strong  bodies,  an  ax  and  a 
gun.  Their  first  necessity 
was  a  rude  shelter  ;  following  that  the  clearing  of  a  plot 
for  the  planting  of  Indian  corn  and  a  few  vegetables 
like  turnips,  parsnips,  potatoes,  and  possibly  pumpkins. 
Meantime  game  from  the  forest,  fish  from  the  stream, 
or  provisions  brought  on  strong  shoulders  from  the 
nearest    settlement    supplied    the    forest    bill    of    fare. 


Warming  Pans 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


55 


When  the  nearest   settlement  was  twenty  miles  away, 
"toting"  provisions  was  no  small  task. 

If  there  were  no  mill  in  the  neighboring  settlement, 
a  homemade  plumping-mill  or  samp  mortar  did  service 
three  times  a  day  in  pounding  out  corn  for  an  unvaried 
diet.  These  mills  were 
crude  affairs,  only  a  step 
in  advance  of  the  stone 
pestle  and  mortar  of  the 
aborigines.  They  were 
made  by  burning  out  a 
hollow  in  the  end  of  a 
stump,  then  attaching 
a  weight  or  plunger  to 
a  near-by  sapling  which 
would  serve  as  a  spring 
pole  and  in  the  hands  of 
the  operator  act  as  a  pestle 
to  pound  out  the  grain. 

The  sound  of  the  mill 
could  be  heard  a  long  dis- 
tance through  the  woods 
or  clearings  and  served  to 
notify  the  traveler  of  his 
approach  to  some  back- 
woods home,  or  to  call  the  workers  in  the  distant  clearing 
to  their  simple  meals.  If  reports  are  true,  these  mills  were 
turned  by  inventive  housewives  into  tongues  of  gossip 
when  homes  were  toe  widely  separated  for  a  daily  visit. 
If  a  gristmill  were  near,  the  sound  of  the  plumping-mill 
was  no  longer  heard  in  the  land,  but  for  a  consideration 


Birch  Splint  Brooms 


56  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

of  two  and  one  half  quarts  to  the  bushel  the  "pudding- 
mill"  furnished  a  more  expeditious  and  less  laborious 
means  of  pulverization.  If  by  good  fortune  the  settler 
was  the  possessor  of  a  cow,  pudding  and  milk  then 
furnished  him  a  stable  article  of  diet. 

By  the  second  harvest  a  greater  variety  would  break 
the  monotony  of  his  fare.  Occasional  wheat  cakes 
would  appear,  to  be  eaten  with  maple  sugar  made  from 
the  trees  of  the  near-by  woods.  Sugar  making  under 
such  primitive  conditions  resembled  the  crude  Indian 
methods  more  than  our  present-day  process  with  its 
improved  buckets,  spouts,  holders,  carriers,  evaporators 
and  all,  to  say  nothing  of  the  trim  little  sugar-houses, 
which  then  would  have  seemed  like  palaces  to  dwell  in. 
Sugar  making  was  conducted  in  the  open,  or  by  the 
side  of  the  rough  lean-to,  with  great  open  kettles  or  pots 
for  the  boiling ;  while  the  sap  dripped  from  great  gashes 
in  the  trees  through  homemade  spouts  of  sumach  or 
basswood  into  rough-hewn  troughs. 

It  is  said  that  the  Indians  used  to  make  large  troughs 
of  pine  trees,  large  enough  to  hold  a  thousand  gallons  of 
sap,  and  that  the  Indian  women  boiled  this  sap  down 
by  heating  large  stones  in  great  fires  and  plunging  them 
into  the  liquid  mass  until  it  had  reached  the  desired 
consistency.  A  writer  who  traveled  through  portions 
of  the  state  previous  to  the  last  century  said  that  the 
sugar  of  the  hard  maple  was  of  good  grain  and  flavor, 
''fully  equal  in  quality  to  the  best  muscavado."  What- 
ever the  quality,  —  and  it  probably  varied  as  much  then 
as  now,  —  it  served  in  many  homes  as  the  sole  sweeten- 
ing for  cooking  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other,  unless 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


57 


by  some  good  luck  a  swarm  of  bees  was  discovered  in 
the  woods,  or  lined  from  the  wild  flowers  of  the  clear- 
ing to  their  honeyed  homes  in  some  hollow  tree. 

The  settlers  planted  fruit  seeds  on  their  first  coming, 
and  a  few  years  rewarded  them  with  gooseberries  and 
currants,  and  presently  with  apples  and  plums.  In 
some  parts  of 
the  state  grapes, 
peaches,  and 
pears  were  also 
raised  in  con- 
siderable quanti- 
ties. In  conse- 
quence of  the 
abundance  of 
apples,  great 
quantities  of 
cider  were  made 
to  save  them  — 
and  then  drunk 
to  save  the 
cider  ;  while  an 
occasional  dis- 
tillery appeared 
to  accommodate 
those  who  thought  their  mortal  frames  required  the 
stimulus  of  a  more  potent  liquid.  Homemade  malt  and 
hop  beer  became  popular  drinks,  and  in  time  the  demands 
of  politics  and  a  growing  civilization  evolved  rum  and 
molasses,  punch,  flip,  and  toddy.  There  was  some  water 
drunk,  of  course,  even  then,  and  plenty  more  of  it  to  be 


An  Old  Well-Sweep 


58  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

had  in  the  cold  springs  that  came  bubbling  up  through 
the  sand  and  stones,  clear  and  sparkling. 

When  a  beaver  meadow  lay  near  the  settler's  pitch 
his  task  of  keeping  cattle  alive  through  the  first  winter 
was  much  simplified.  Here  was  hay  that  could  be  cut 
and  stacked  without  the  labor  of  first  clearing  land.  If 
several  settlers  dwelt  near  the  meadow,  it  was  only  fair 
to  hold  it  as  common  property.  A  good  many  interest- 
ing little  bits  of  communal  organization  may  be  found 
in  the  histories  of  our  first  towns.  The  hay  reeve  and 
the  hog  ward  became  as  necessary  as  any  town  officers, 
when  cattle  were  plentier  than  fences.  At  such  times 
it  became  a  convenient  and  economical  expedient  to  have 
one  man  assume  authority  over  the  several  and  indi- 
vidual members  of  the  herd.  When  cattle  ran  in  one 
common  drove  it  sometimes  became  necessary  as  num- 
bers multiplied  to  brand  them  or  clip  their  ears  with 
some  distinguishing  mark  to  identify  the  animals  of 
different  owners.  Swine  found  pasturage  in  the  woods, 
where  they  could  live  on  roots  and  nuts.  At  Swanton 
a  convenient  disposal  of  them  was  made  by  taking  them 
over  to  an  island  in  the  lake,  where  they  could  roam  at 
will.  Another  reminder  this  of  mediaeval  times,  when 
the  right  of  their  hogs  to  run  in  the  woods  was  made 
one  of  the  demands  of  the  peasants. 

As  the  building  of  a  gristmill  marked  an  epoch  in 
the  life  of  the  inner  man,  so  the  advent  of  the  sawmill 
marked  a  change  in  outward  appearances.  It  provided 
settlers  with  means  of  constructing  more  comfortable 
and  less  picturesque  habitations  than  those  of  rough 
logs.     The  little  one-room  cabin  with  its  great  chimney 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


59 


and  fireplace  at  the  end,  through  which  as  much  light 
came  as  through  the  windows,  could  now  be  easily 
divided  by  a  board  partition  into  two  rooms  ;  perhaps  it 
could  be  supplied  with  a  floor  beneath,  and  a  loft  over- 
head where  the  children  could  lie  o'  nights  and  watch  the 
stars  through  the  cracks  in  the  roof  till  the  sleepy  eyes 
closed  in  slumber.  Newcomers  would  build  no  longer 
log  cabins  but  frame  houses,  if  they  built  within  con- 
venient distance  of  the  mill.  Public  buildings  of  some 
importance  could  now  arise,  and  the  more  prosperous 
farmers  could  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  board  fences. 

Indoors,  life 
would  go  on  much 
the  same  as  before. 
When  trees  were 
standing  around 
waiting  to  be  cut 
and  the  woodsman 
needed  his  blows 
for  clearing  land, 
he  did  not  stop  to 
chop  the  firewood 
fine.  Four-foot 
lengths  for  the 
fireplace  were  not  extravagant,  and  the  bigger  the 
backlog  that  could  be  placed  upon  the  irons  the  bet- 
ter. In  days  when  matches  were  unknown  and  the 
nearest  neighbor  from  whom  fire  could  be  borrowed  was 
perhaps  a  mile  away,  it  was  a  virtue  if  not  a  neces- 
sity to  keep  fire  always  going.  The  evening's  light 
from  the  fireplace  was  eked  out  by  the  "taller  dip"  or 


Candle  Dips 


oo 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


j 

—          — — — 

1  Wi 

■'     ■ 

1  u±i 

Old  Candle  Molds 


candle,  and  candle-making  time  came  to  be  a  greasy 
day  as  much  reckoned  on  in  the  calendar  of  labor  as 
soap-making  time  or  the  fall  slaughtering  of  the  hogs. 

Bear's  grease,  deer 
suet,  and  moose  fat 
were  all  scrupulously 
saved  and  tried  into 
tallow  for  candles  ; 
and  some  farmers 
kept  bees  for  the 
wax  as  well  as  for 
honey,  for  wax  can- 
dles were  also  used. 
The  fireplace  was 
the  cooking  stove  of 
many  a  backwoods  housewife,  and  it  served  its  purpose 
well  for  many  years,  equipped  with  cranes  and  pots. 
Later,  when  bricks  were  made,  ovens  became  a  necessity 
instead  of  a  luxury.  Some  women  were  enterprising 
and  skillful  enough  to  anticipate  the  brick  oven  by 
constructing  of  stones  and  clay  ovens  for  themselves. 
The  women  of  those  days  deserve  especial  honor. 
Wives  and  mothers  they,  who  were  helpmates  and 
workers  always,  in  hardship  and  danger  making  the 
home  life  sweet,  diligent  with  hands  and  head,  with 
little  time  for  thoughts  of  finery  or  any  but  the  plain 
and  simple  and  necessary  things  of  life.  Not  that  they 
lacked  appreciation  of  fine  things  or  that  their  period 
of  exile  killed  the  feminine  taste  for  fashion.  Indeed 
it  did  not  ;  it  was  transmitted  to  their  daughters,  to 
blossom  out  in  all  its  glory  even  to  the  third  and  fourth 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL 


6l 


—  and  nobody  knows  how  many  more  —  generations. 
But  those  women  in  seedtime  and  harvest  worked 
beside  their  husbands  in  the  field,  or  in  the  absence 
of  the  men  guarded  the  pigpen,  sheepfold,  and  poultry 
house  from  the  predatory  bear,  wolf,  or  fox.  If  their 
husbands  were  clearing  in  the  field,  they  could  pile 
brush  ;  in  potato  digging,  flax  pulling,  husking,  and 
sugaring  they  lent  helping  hands.  In  addition  to  these 
tasks  they  did  work  within  the  cabin  which  would  con- 
found a  housewife  of  the  present  day.  In  their  hands 
rested  in  no  small  measure  the  training  of  the  children  ; 
and  in  the  life 
of  the  neighbor- 
hood, when  doc- 
tors were  few 
and  far  between, 
they  were  the 
ones  who  minis- 
tered to  every 
ill  that  befell 
humanity  from 
the  cradle  to 
the  grave.  What 
wonder  that  we 
still  bow  down  to 
the  virtue  of  "old 
wives' remedies." 

It  was  a  golden  augury  for  the  welfare  of  the  state 
that  schools  and  churches  were  among  the  first  thoughts 
of  the  settlers  after  they  had  made  the  barest  provision 
for  their  own  homes.     It  speaks  no  less  eloquently  for 


An  Old-time  Fireplace,  Brick  Oven,  and 
Utensils 


62 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


their  efforts  that  the  first  schools  were  taught  in  corn 
barns  by  the  light  of  the  open  doorway  and  the  rays 
that  came  silting  through  the  cracks  between  the  boards, 
or  in  the  hay  barns  vacant  in  summer,  or  on  the  stoops 

of  log  houses.  Schools 
were  begun  when  the 
means  of  their  support 
were  but  a  few  bushels 
of  corn  or  wheat  voted  by 
the  town.  Salaries  of 
teachers  were  not  high 
then;  they  never  have 
been  since.  The  story  of 
one  backwoods  pedagogue 
is  that  when  asked  his 
terms  he  replied,  gazing 
at  the  great  mouth  of  the 
fireplace  which  occupied 
one  end  of  the  room,  that 
he  guessed  he  could  cut 


Goose  Basket,  used  to  hold 
Goose  Feathers  and  some- 
times USED  TO  HOLD  WASTE 
Flax 


the  wood  and  teach  the 
school  for  the  ashes  he 
could  make.  The  meaning  of  the  remark  will  presently 
appear.  Of  course  in  winter  school  keeping  on  porches 
and  in  barns  was  out  of  question,  and  some  of  the  more 
commodious  private  houses  were  called  into  requisition 
if  no  regular  schoolhouse  existed. 

The  first  schoolhouses  could  hardly  compare  with 
ours,  but  they  served  well  the  purpose  of  their  day. 
They  were  oftentimes  plain  log  structures,  with  a  fire- 
place at  one  end,  a  door  at  the  other,  and  a  window  on 


THE    WIDENING    TRAIL  63 

each  side.  Along  the  clay -chinked  walls  pegs  were 
driven,  and  on  these  rough  boards  were  laid  to  serve 
as  desks.  Some  were  more  elaborately  planned  with  a 
nearer  approach  to  individual  desks. 

The  early  histories  of  the  towns  throughout  the  state 
reveal  the  high  place  in  the  life  of  the  community  which 
was  taken  by  the  churches  and  their  pastors.  The 
great  number  of  preachers  and  religious  denominations 
testify  to  a  wholesome  regard  for  spiritual  things,  to 
freedom  of  worship,  independence  of  opinion,  religious 
toleration,  and,  so  far  as  such  a  thing  can  exist,  religious 
equality. 

As  time  went  on  a  few  new  industries  arose,  based 
on  the  bounties  of  Nature.  An  iron  forge  was  built 
here,  a  limekiln  there  ;  asheries,  brickyards,  and  black- 
smith shops  began  to  appear.  The  beginnings  were 
humble,  but  they  were  significant  of  far  greater  changes 
to  come,  when  business  should  divide  into  multifold 
branches,  and  trades  and  crafts  multiply  almost  beyond 
the  comprehension  of  man. 

For  the  most  part,  men  were  still  farmers,  and  the 
greater  portion  of  the  state  lay  unreclaimed.  So  the 
work  of  settlement  went  on,  along  the  high  lands  first, 
then  creeping  down  little  by  little  toward  the  river 
bottoms.  On  the  higher  slopes  grew  the  hard  wood, 
the  stumps  of  which  decayed  quickly,  covering  the  earth 
with  rich,  mellow  soil  which  would  yield  sure  crops  the 
first  year  with  no  fertilizing.  Lumber  had  but  little 
value,  but  ashes  of  hard  wood  were  everywhere  salable 
for  potash  and  pearlash,  and  yielded  the  settlers  what 
little  ready  money  they  had.     A   double  purpose  was 


64 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


thus  served  by  clearing  the  hills  first.  Roads,  too, 
were  easily  made  on  the  drier  uplands ;  while  along 
the  river  bottoms,  wetter  then  than  now,  they  would 
have  been  impassable.  So  the  old  villages  were  perched 
upon  the  hills,  and  the  old  stage  roads,  some  of  which 
now  are  but  bush-lined  lanes,  were  put  through  them, 
running  from  hilltop  to  hilltop,  up  hill  and  down  dale, 
in  lines  as  straight  as  the  crow  takes  in  his  flight. 

Do  not  think  that  the  life  of  those  days  was  barren, 
dull,    or   meaningless.     There   were   people   who    could 

develop  a  states- 
manship second  to 
none,  win  and  main- 
tain independence, 
without  the  help  of 
railroad,  highway, 
or  steamboat,  with- 
out newspaper, 
telegraph,  or  tele- 
phone.  Their 
strength  and  power 
were  bred  in  them,  not  acquired  from  outside.  Such  life 
was  the  training  school  of  character.  The  men  who  gave 
their  lives  to  toil  knew  how  to  make  the  toil  a  pleasure 
by  the  cooperation  of  the  neighborly  hand,  in  changing 
work,  in  raisings,  logging  bees,  stone-pulling  bees,  husk- 
ing bees,  and  many  a  homely  frolic  touched  with  service. 
If  salted  bear's  meat  was  sometimes  a  necessary  substi- 
tute for  beef  and  pork,  there  was  also  the  toothsome 
haunch  of  venison  that  was  as  sure  to  come  as  the 
autumn  snows  that  gave  the  first  sign  for  the  fall  hunt. 


A  Typical  Old-time  Coach  and 
Tavern 


T11K    WIDENING   TRAIL 


65 


The  streams  yielded  trout  in  abundance,  and  man)'  a 
log  cabin  furnished  fare  that  the  sporting  epicure  of 
to-day  would  have  to  go  far  to  equal. 

The  settlers  had  their  politics,  too,  although  it  was  no 
longer  the  French  in  Canada  who  disturbed  their  peace. 
Have  you  never  thought  how  remarkably  short  the  time 
was  after  the  English  government  helped  the  colonists 
drive  the  French  out  of  Canada  before  the  French  gov- 
ernment turned  about  and  helped  the  colonists  drive 
the  English  government  out  of  the  colonies  ?  That 
is,  the  war  of  the  Revolution  followed  close  upon  the 
conquest  of  Canada.  The  American  colonies  still  had 
their  national  politics.  The  settlers  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  as  our  state  was  then  called,  shared  in  the 
national  politics  ;  not  only  that,  but  they  first  had  a 
very  exciting  issue  of  their  own  in  local  politics,  which 
demands  a  separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    DEBATABLE    LAND 

At  a  Court  at  St.  James, 

the  24th.  day  of  July,  1767. 
His  Majesty,  taking  the  said  report *  into  consideration,  was  pleased, 
with  the  advice  of  his  private  council,  to  approve  thereof,  and  doth 
hereby  strictly  charge,  require  and  command,  that  the  Governor  or 
Commander  in  Chief  of  his  Majesty's  Province  of  New  York,  for  the 
time  being,  do  not,  upon  pain  of  his  Majesty's  highest  displeasure,  pre- 
sume to  make  any  grant  whatsoever,  of  any  part  of  the  lands  described 
in  the  said  report,  until  his  Majesty's  further  pleasure  shall  be  known, 
concerning  the  same.  —  Order  of  the  King  in  Council. 

A  Subject  of  Dispute  :  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants 

When  the  king  of  England  appointed  royal  governors 
in  his  American  colonies  he  gave  them  certain  powers, 
such  as  the  right  to  grant  land  which  remained  unsettled 
within  their  jurisdiction.  It  is  apparent  that  in  exercis- 
ing this  right  the  governors  were  in  every  case  acting 
as  officers  or  agents  of  the  king,  since  it  was  under  the 
king's  authority  that  they  acted  at  all.  It  would  further- 
more appear  that  this  right  to  make  grants  of  land 
would  hold  good  for  any  portion  of  the  province  or 
colony  over  which  the  governor  was  appointed. 

It  happened  that  in  the  year  1741  Benning  Went- 
worth  had  been  appointed  governor  of  New  Hamp- 
shire  under    the    king.      He   was    given    this    right    of 

1  Report  of  the  Board  of  Trade  on  the  disputed  claims  in  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants. 

66 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND 


67 


making  grants  of  land  within  his  province.  The  western 
boundary  of  the  province  had  never  been  very  definitely 
described.  The  province  simply  ran  westward  till  it 
met  his  majesty's  other  lands.  Now  since  New  Hamp- 
shire came  from  territory  which  had  previously  been  a 
part  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Massachusetts  was 
supposed  to  extend 
westward  until  it 
reached  a  line  twentv 
miles  east  of  the  Hud- 
son River,  Governor 
Wentworth  reasoned 
that  New  Hampshire 
would  also  extend  west- 
ward the  same  distance. 
He  accordingly  began 
to  make  grants  of  town- 
ships west  of  the  Con- 
necticut River,  the  first 
one  thus  granted  being 
the  township  of  Ben- 
nington, the  settlement 
of  which  has  already 
been  described. 

The  governor  of 
New  York,  when  informed  that  grants  were  thus  being 
made  in  this  unsettled  territory,  raised  objections  on 
the  grounds  that  land  west  of  the  Connecticut  really 
belonged  to  the  province  of  New  York  and  therefore 
was  under  his  jurisdiction,  and  that  he  was  the  one  to 


Ben  n  1  ng  W  entworth 


68  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

make  grants  it  an)'  were  to  be  made.  lie  based  his 
claim  on  the  boundary  of  the  province  of  New  York  and 
on  his  commission  and  instructions. 

We  find,  therefore,  that  two  royal  governors,  acting 
for  the  same  king,  were  in  a  dispute  over  the  right  to 
grant  his  territory.  We  can  understand  why  it  made 
some  difference  to  them  ;  because  out  of  every  town- 
ship which  Governor  Wentworth  granted  he  reserved 
a  good  portion  for  himself,  and  for  every  grant  which 
Governor  Clinton  made  he  charged  right  good  fees. 
It  was  for  the  interest  of  each  to  possess  this  right 
to  make  the  grants,  but  we  cannot  understand  why  it 
should  make  any  real  difference  with  the  validity  of  a 
settler's  title  whether  it  came  through  Clinton  or  Went- 
worth. They  were  both  agents  of  the  same  authority ; 
the  grants  made  by  either  came  really  from  the  king, 
and  a  grant  from  the  king  of  his  own  lands  ought  to 
have  been  good,  no  matter  through  whose  hands  it 
came. 

Of  course  this  question  whether  Governor  Clinton 
or  Governor  Wentworth  was  correct  in  the  matter  was 
a  question  for  the  king  to  decide.  The  matter  was 
referred  to  him  for  that  purpose  ;  the  case  was  inves- 
tigated by  the  proper  officers ;  they  reported  it  to  be 
their  opinion  that  the  Connecticut  River  was  the  bound- 
ary between  the  two  provinces.  An  Order  in  Council 
was  accordingly  issued  declaring  the  Connecticut  River 
to  be  the  boundary  between  the  provinces  of  New 
York  and  New  Hampshire.  This  of  course  brought 
the  grants  which  Governor  Wentworth  had  made  into 
the  territory  of   New  York. 


Early  Map  of  New  Hampshire,  including  the  Territory  from 

which  Governor  Wentworth  made  the 

New  Hampshire  Grants 


JO  HISTORY    OF    VKRMONT 

But  this  was  in  1764,  a  number  of  years  after  Governor 
Wentworth  commenced  to  make  grants.  During  the 
dispute  he  continued  to  make  a  few  grants  ;  after  1760 
he  made  them  with  a  diligence  that  was  truly  remarkable. 
You  will  remember  that  settlers  in  increasing  num- 
bers began  to  pour  into  the  state  in  that  year.  The 
land  which  these  settlers  took  had  been  granted  in  this 
way  by  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire.  The  coun- 
try became  known  in  consequence  of  this  as  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants. 

When  the  order  of  the  king  reached  New  York  the 
lieutenant  governor  published  a  proclamation  announcing 
the  fact  and  telling  the  settlers  on  the  grants  to  govern 
themselves  accordingly.  Although  the  Order  in  Council 
and  the  proclamation  came  as  something  of  a  surprise  to 
people  who  received  their  titles  from  New  Hampshire 
and  had  become  accustomed  to  regard  that  state  as  their 
parent  and  superior,  the  documents  did  not  cause  alarm. 
The  settlers  did  not  anticipate  with  pleasure  the  change 
in  authority  which  the  order  involved,  but  they  felt 
inclined  to  accept  it  without  making  trouble,  for  to  them 
it  appeared  to  be  simply  a  change  in  jurisdiction  which 
did  not  affect  the  validity  of  their  titles. 

It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  the  settlers  on  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants  would  like  the  jurisdiction  of 
New  York  as  well  as  that  of  New  Hampshire.  These 
settlers  were  mostly  New  England  men,  and  New  Eng- 
land people  had  their  own  ways  of  doing  things,  which 
differed  from  the  New  York  methods.  For  example,  the 
New  York  lands  had  been  granted  in  old  Dutch  times, 
before  the  English  took  possession,  and  were  held  under 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  yi 

what  was  known  as  the  patroon  system.  This  gave  large 
tracts  to  a  few  men  instead  of  small  farms  to  a  great  many 
men.  One  man  might  possess  thousands  of  acres  ;  but 
the  men  who  worked  on  this  land  would  be  nothing  but 
tenants  of  his,  instead  of  independent  owners  of  farms  of 
their  own.  It  was  quite  different  from  the  New  England 
method.  However,  so  far  as  tenure  of  their  farms  was 
concerned,  the  settlers  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  did 
not  anticipate  trouble,  for  they  already  owned  them. 

In  the  matter  of  government,  too,  the  settlers  could  not 
expect  much  voice,  for  in  administering  affairs  the  New 
York  way  was  not  at  all  like  their  own.  In  New  York 
the  government  was  more  aristocratic,  and  we  have  seen 
that  the  settlers  were  very  democratic.  In  New  York 
even  the  local  officers  were  appointed  either  directly  or 
indirectly  by  the  central  authority.  The  settlers  had 
become  accustomed  to  appointing  for  themselves  what- 
ever local  officers  they  needed.  Their  town  meetings 
had  come  to  be  a  sort  of  foundation  of  government,  a 
political  nursery  and  training  school.  The  two  systems 
were  essentially  different,  and  the  settlers  would  have  to 
accustom  themselves  to  the  change  ;  but  after  all  they 
were  under  the  same  king,  and  a  mere  transfer  of  juris- 
diction was  not  worth  revolting  against,  if  that  were  all. 

But  a  mere  change  of  jurisdiction  was  not  all,  as 
presently  appeared.  First,  rumors  began  to  float  about 
that  the  governor  of  New  York  was  taking  the  king's 
order  not  only  to  establish  future  jurisdiction  over  the 
grants,  but  to  annul  present  titles.  He  was  going  to 
make  the  Order  in  Council  retroactive  in  its  effects. 
This  meant  that  the  settlers  must  abandon  their  homes 


J2  HISTORY    OK    VERMONT 

—  the  homes  which  they  had  bought,  cleared,  and  paid 
for  —  or  pay  for  them  again  in  fees  and  exorbitant  charges 
to  the  New  York  officials.  A  very  different  matter  this 
from  submitting  to  a  mere  change  in  jurisdiction. 

Presently,  in  confirmation  of  the  rumors,  men  began 
to  appear  from  New  York,  bringing  surveyors  with  them  ; 
and  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1765  they  busied  them- 
selves by  running  lines,  setting  up  stakes  in  the  fields, 
and  marking  trees  in  the  woods.  They  were  preparing 
to  claim  lands  under  New  York  patents.  The  settlers 
became  alarmed  for  the  security  of  their  property  and 
sought  redress.  But  redress  was  hard  to  get.  They  were 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  power  which  was  robbing 
them.  It  was  hopeless  to  appeal  to  the  party  that  was 
taking  away  their  rights,  yet  they  did  appeal.  They  did 
all  they  could  decently  and  in  good  form,  —  appointed 
agents  to  represent  their  case,  sent  to  New  York  asking 
the  governor's  protection  since  they  were  under  his 
authority,  sought  legal  redress.  But  it  was  of  no  avail. 
City  speculators  had  already  bought  up  grants  of  their 
best  lands,  and  for  the  remainder,  if  they  chose  to  retain 
them,  fees  were  demanded  which  were  said  to  be  as  much 
as  the  land  itself  was  worth.  In  other  words,  they  must 
pay  for  the  labor  which  they  had  themselves  expended  on 
their  own  estates. 

It  is  apparent  that,  although  this  controversy  actually 
began  in  one  town,  the  issue  was  really  not  a  local  issue 
at  all.  If  the  settlers  were  beaten  in  one  town,  the  same 
thing  would  happen  in  every  town  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants.  The  cause  was  a  general  one,  and  the  settlers 
had   the  sagacity  to  see  that  organized  and   concerted 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  73 

action  was  necessary.  We  shall  presently  study  the  form 
which  that  action  took. 

That  they  were  right  in  assuming  that  change  of  juris- 
diction was  all  that  the  king's  Order  in  Council  contem- 
plated was  shown  conclusively  in  1767.  The  king  had 
been  informed  of  the  trouble  which  the  action  of  the 
governor  of  New  York  was  making  in  the  grants ;  and  in 
order  to  settle  that  controversy  and  forestall  any  further 
conflicts  he  issued  in  1 767  a  second  Order  in  Council  on 
the  subject  of  dispute.  It  positively  forbade  the  gov- 
ernor of  New  York  to  make  any  further  grants  of  dis- 
puted territory.  This  showed  that  the  settlers'  titles 
were  valid,  and  that  the  Order  in  Council  of  1764  was 
not  intended  to  give  the  governor  of  New  York  any 
authority  to  grant  over  again  to  some  one  else  lands 
which  had  been  granted  once  by  the  governor  of  New 
Hampshire  to  purchasers  in  good  faith. 

But  the  governors  of  New  York  had  been  emulating 
the  example  of  Benning  Wentworth  and  had  already 
made  enough  grants  of  just  this  kind  to  give  the  settlers 
a  lively  fight  to  retain  their  homes.  Not  only  this,  but 
the  king's  second  order  was  treated  as  a  nullity  and 
grants  were  made  continuously  by  the  governor  of  New 
York  and  his  successors  with  one  exception  to  the  days 
of  the  American  Revolution.1 

The  Green  Mountain  Boys 

The  people  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  had  been 
living  plain,  simple  lives,  without  getting  into  quarrels 
and  without  making  much  noise  in  the  world.    They  had 

!See  Appendix,  Part  III,  Table  A,  for  the  amount  of  the  grants 
and  the  fees. 


74 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


little  money,  slight  legal  counsel,  no  influence.  They 
were  under  the  necessity  of  conducting  their  own  defense. 
They  did  it ;  and  if  ever  an  inherent  Anglo-Saxon  sense  of 


Vermont  divided  into  four  Counties  under  the 
Jurisdiction  of  New  York 

constitutional  procedure  was  shown,  it  was  when  they  sub- 
mitted their  cause  to  be  tried  at  Albany,  in  the  regular 
way,  in  the  courts  of  the  power  that  was  overriding  them, 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  75 

after  that  power  had  shown  indubitable  signs  of  what 
its  policy  would  be,  by  sending  home  their  agents  from 
New  York  with  answers  that  showed  the  hopelessness 
of  further  appeal. 

As  the  contest  went  on  it  looked  as  though  the  New 
York  authorities  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  instances  in 
which  might  makes  right.  The  attorney  general  plainly 
intimated  this.  Ethan  Allen  responded  in  scriptural 
phrase  that  ''the  gods  of  the  valleys  are  not  the  gods 
of  the  hills."  On  being  questioned  by  the  official  as 
to  the  interpretation  thereof,  Allen  replied  that  if  he 
would  come  to  Bennington  the  meaning  would  be  made 
plain  to  him.  It  was  made  plain,  and  at  Bennington, 
although  the  attorney  general  was  not  there. 

When  the  test  cases  were  called  at  Albany  the  court 
refused  to  allow  the  charters  of  the  town  and  the  deeds 
of  the  settlers  to  be  presented  as  evidence.  There  could 
be,  therefore,  no  defense.  The  settlers  were  stripped 
of  legal  recourse,  and  verdicts  were  rendered  for  the 
New  York  grantees.  The  result  of  these  ejectment  suits 
at  Albany  in  June,  1770,  conclusively  demonstrated  one 
thing  :  there  was  no  means  of  legal  redress,  and  further 
appeal  to  New  York  was  useless.  It  was  well  for  the 
settlers  that  the  decision  was  not  equivocal.  No  pos- 
sible doubt  could  be  left  in  their  minds  now  as  to  what 
they  must  do. 

Since  the  New  York  claimants,  supported  by  the 
decision  of  the  courts,  would  surely  attempt  to  eject 
the  settlers,  it  remained  for  the  latter  to  provide  means 
to  retain  their  homes  and  defend  them.  The  conditions 
under  which  the  settlers  were  placed  were  such  as  they 


76  HIS  TORY    OF    VERMONT 

had  never  before  been  called  on  to  face.  There  was 
nothing,  therefore,  in  their  experience  to  provide  for 
such  an  emergency,  nothing  in  their  town  govern- 
ments to  handle  such  cases  as  those  now  in  hand,  no 
organization  existing  which  could  act  for  them. 

It  might  be  a  very  simple  matter  to  repel  the  sheriff 
who  came  to  serve  the  writs  of  ejectment  upon  the 
settlers  whose  titles  had  been  condemned  in  the  New 
York  courts  ;  it  would  be  a  far  different  matter  to  deal 
with  the  full  force  of  royal  authority  in  the  province 
which  stood  behind  this  officer,  if  that  should  be  called 
into  requisition.  It  was  with  a  full  understanding  of  the 
remoter  consequences  which  their  action  involved  that 
the  settlers  prepared  for  defense. 

The  issue  came  first  to  the  town  of  Bennington  when 
the  defendants  in  the  ejectment  suits  came  back  from 
Albany  beaten  in  the  courts.  The  town  of  Bennington 
met  the  issue  by  calling  a  meeting  to  determine  the 
sentiments  of  the  inhabitants  and  voting  to  take  the 
defendants  under  the  protection  of  the  town.  It  was 
no  non-committal  step  ;  but  really  the  town  could  do  no 
less,  for  the  result  of  this  issue  would  determine  the 
strength  of  New  York  laws  and  the  fate  of  the  settlers 
in  the  grants.  The  action  of  the  town,  therefore,  was 
not  merely  heroic  or  self-sacrificing ;  it  was  necessary 
to  self-preservation.  Everything  was  at  stake.  If  these 
writs  were  executed,  it  would  be  the  turn  of  some  one 
else  next,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  The  time  to  face  the 
issue  was  at  the  start. 

The  sheriff  was  not  able  to  execute  the  writs  without 
assistance.     Gathering  a  large  posse,  he  approached  the 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  yy 

farm  of  one  of  the  defendants,  Breakenridge  by  name. 
But  warning  of  his  project  had  spread,  and  when  he 
arrived  the  settlers  were  prepared  to  receive  him.  The 
sheriff  was  no  coward,  but  circumstances  were  unfavor- 
able for  the  performance  of  his  duty.  The  settlers 
had  posted  a  hundred  well-armed  men  in  the  woods 
which  ran  along  the  ridge  of  the  slope  where  the  farm- 
house stood ;  across  the  tilled  field  to  the  southeast,  but 
within  gunshot,  was  a  smaller  force ;  the  house  itself 
was  barricaded  and  garrisoned. 

The  settlers  met  sheriff  Ten  Eyck  with  the  warning 
that  they  should  hold  their  own  at  all  costs,  and  when 
he  seized  an  ax  and  threatened  to  smash  in  the  door, 
he  found  the  points  of  too  many  muskets  leveled  at  him 
to  make  it  a  prudent  undertaking.  These  men  rarely 
missed  their  aim.  He  retired  with  discretion,  and  not 
a  shot  was  fired  on  either  side.  The  posse  dispersed,  as 
one  writer  says,  "  with  commendable  speed  to  their  own 
homes,"  and  the  gods  of  the  hills  were  left  in  peaceful 
possession  of  their  own. 

While  this  was  a  bloodless  victory,  its  importance 
should  not  be  underestimated.  It  turned  the  tide  of 
events  in  favor  of  the  settlers  and  against  the  New 
York  claimants  at  just  the  critical  moment,  and  by  so 
doing  it  gave  the  defenders  of  the  grants  a  premonition 
of  the  success  which  was  to  be  theirs  in  spite  of  the 
adverse  rulings  of  the  Albany  court,  if  they  only  stood 
stanchly  together.  It  also  showed  their  opponents  the 
temper  of  these  people,  and  that  it  would  be  no  small 
power  that  could  dispossess  them  of  their  homes.  Fur- 
thermore, it  made  the  town  of  Bennington  the  leader 


yS  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

and  the  headquarters  of   the  opposition  to  New  York 
claimants. 

But  the  issue  was  not  settled.  Defense  could  not  stop 
where  it  had  begun.  It  yet  remained  to  establish  a  more 
systematic  and  definite  form  of  resistance  through  the 
western  townships.  Town  meetings  and  conferences  were 
held,  and  the  organization  of  military  companies  began 
under  an  association  which  took  its  name  from  a  threat 


i 

^    J 

1 

I 

¥  Twm 

If  '{mmy 
r?*»  I-  - 

St  *?  ■ 

tM 

=5p 

ISst, 

mr> 

The  Old  Catamount  Tavern 

which  the  governor  of  New  York  had  made  to  drive  the 
opponents  of  his  authority  into  the  green  mountains,  — 
the  name  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

In  this  controversy  there  appears  for  the  first  time  in 
the  public  affairs  of  the  state  the  figure  of  Ethan  Allen. 
He  came  from  Connecticut  to  Bennington  in  the  time  of 
the  land-grant  dispute  as  a  proprietor  under  the  New 
Hampshire  charters.  He  was  sturdy,  self-reliant,  and 
possessed   of   those  commanding  qualities  which  go  to 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND 


79 


make  natural  leaders  in  such  epochs.  He  threw  him- 
self whole-heartedly  into  the  struggle,  helped  the  defend- 
ants prepare  their  cases  for  trial  with  as  much  skill  as  a 
trained  lawyer,  became  a  leader  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys  when  it  was  necessary  to  bid  defiance  to  the  pro- 
cess of  the  courts,  and  was  a  dominant  figure  in  their 
councils  held  at  the 
old  Catamount 
Tavern  of  Landlord 
Stephen  Fay. 

The  sign  of  this 
green  mountain  hos- 
telry was  the  stuffed 
skin  of  a  catamount, 
reared  aloft  on  a 
pole,  facing  with 
grinning  teeth  the 
New  York  border. 
In  this  tavern  the 
leaders  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  ma- 
tured their  plans,  and 
in  later  days,  during 
the  troublous  times 

of  the  Revolution,  the  Council  of  Safety  met  and  pon- 
dered around  the  old  fireplace  across  whose  top  were 
cut  in  rude  letters  the  words  Cousil  Room. 


Monument  marking  the  Site  of  the 
c  ata  mount  t a  v  f.  r  n 


Beginnings  of  Statecraft 

It  is  an  interesting  story  and  well  worth  looking  into, 
this  story  of  how  the  settlers  on  the  New   Hampshire 


8o 


HISTORY    OF    VKKMONT 


Grants  maintained  their  own.  In  spite  of  its  unques- 
tioned seriousness,  not  only  to  those  whose  lives,  liberty, 
and  property  were  hazarded,  but  also  for  the  future  of 
the  state,  there  is  a  certain  grim  humor  about  the  whole 
situation  which  lends  it  a  distinct  and  spicy  flavor. 

Here  were  two  parties,  like  angry  school  children,  call- 
ing each  other  all  sorts  of  opprobrious  names.  The  one 
faction  was  stigmatized  as  a  crowd  of  "land  jobbers," 

"land  thieves,"  "land 
pirates,"  "specula- 
tors," "  Yorkites  "  ; 
the  other  side  was 
known  by  such  dire 
and  dreadful  names 
as  "  the  Bennington 
mob,"  "  wanton  dis- 
turbers of  the  peace," 
"rioters,"  "conspira- 
tors," and  the  like. 
Here  were  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  occa- 
sionally chastising  the 
more  persistent  of 
their  enemies  with  "  twigs  of  the  wilderness,  the  growth 
of  the  land  which  they  coveted,"  setting  with  the  terrible 
solemnity  of  thirty-nine  lashes  an  indelible  impression 
of  the  "beech  seal  "  upon  both  the  mind  and  bared  back 
of  the  recipient.  It  was  tangible  evidence  that  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  were  acting  under  some  authority  or 
other.  Here  were  the  New  York  officials  offering 
rewards   for  the  capture  of   Ethan   Allen,    Remember 


The  Fireplace  in  the  Council  Room 
of  the  Catamount  Tavern 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  8l 

Baker,  and  other  leaders  of  this  band  of  Robin  Hoods, 
and  they  in  like  fashion  returning  the  compliment, 
although  at  a  significantly  lower  figure. 

But  we  observed  the  really  essential  thing  when  we 
took  notice  of  the  manner  in  which  the  settlers  began 
their  determined  resistance  to  encroachment.  From 
that  alone  we  could  foresee  that  out  of  all  this  trouble, 
some  of  which  looks  more  like  rough  horseplay  than 
statesmanship,  there  would  come  in  due  time  a  training 
in  the  practical  management  of  their  own  affairs,  a  rude 
but  effective  organization  of  executive  machinery,  con- 
servative legislation,  and  a  sense  of  justice  which  would 
preserve  to  every  man  his  own,  and  guarantee  his  rights 
to  each  one  who  fulfilled  his  duties  :  all  of  which  things 
were  to  fit  the  settlers  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants 
for  the  task  of  building  on  these  foundations  a  true  and 
loyal  state. 

It  may  appear  ill  advised  to  apply  the  term  conserva- 
tive to  the  actions  of  men  who  were  doing  what  has 
been  described.  But  it  was  simply  this.  They  were 
not  revolutionists  seeking  to  overthrow  and  uproot  an 
existing  order  of  things  ;  they  stood  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  existing  order ;  they  were  conservers  of  the 
public  weal. 

Let  us  review  the  really  essential  features  of  their 
work,  in  order  to  see  how  unfailingly  constructive  it  was. 
Let  us  look  now,  not  for  the  picturesque  features,  but 
for  underlying  principles. 

From  the  time  of  their  first  settlement  and  organization 
the  towns  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  had  by  the 
terms  of  their  charters  certain  powers  of  self-government 


82  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

in  March  meeting  through  the  election  of  town  officers 
and  the  direction  of  town  affairs.  At  a  time  when  settle- 
ments were  few  and  isolated  and  there  was  no  general 
cause  or  public  question  this  might  well  comprehend  the 
government  of  the  grants.  But  the  courts  of  New  York 
sought  to  annul  these  charters  and  by  so  doing  destroy 
every  right  that  was  based  thereon.  That  was  a  blow 
struck  at  the  government  of  every  town  in  the  grants, 
and  it  created,  therefore,  an  issue  broader  than  that  of 
the  government  of  any  single  town. 

The  towns  might  keep  on  exercising,  each  for  itself, 
their  prerogatives,  but  this  would  not  be  enough  to 
meet  the  needs  of  a  cause  which  was  sure  to  become 
general.  Some  further  organization  was  forced  upon 
them  collectively  for  the  preservation  of  what  they 
already  possessed  as  individual  towns.  The  adminis- 
trative needs  were  like  those  which  confronted  the 
American  colonies  on  the  eve  of  revolution,  and  it  is 
instructive  to  note  that  in  both  cases  these  needs  were 
met  in  exactly  the  same  way,  that  is,  by  the  work  of 
committees. 

The  first  step  in  this  work  was  the  appointment  and 
organization  in  the  several  towns  of  committees  of  safety 
to  provide  for  the  defense  and  security  of  property 
claimed  by  the  New  York  litigants.  And  since  the 
cause  was  a  general  one,  in  a  far  truer  sense  than  the 
cause  of  Massachusetts  was  a  general  one  among 
the  American  colonies  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, it  would  be  the  truest  and  most  effective  economy 
to  provide  general  or  cooperative  protection.  These 
town  committees,  therefore,  met  to  provide  means  for 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  83 

it,  and  you  have  the  next  step  beyond  the  town  meeting 
in  state  building,  and  that  is  the  convention. 

Since  protection  involves  defense,  and  defense  involves 
the  use  of  force  if  needed  to  repel  attack,  the  next  step 
for  the  combining  towns  to  take  was  to  provide  a  mili- 
tary force.  To  meet  this  requirement  you  find  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys,  a  crude  military  force,  perhaps, 
raw,  undisciplined,  irregular,  but  a  military  force  never- 
theless, and  one  that  acted  for  the  common  weal. 

Now  let  us  see  what  we  have  found  thus  far.  It 
is  nothing  less  than  a  government  in  embryo,  —  local 
government  in  town  meeting,  general  government  in 
convention,  standing  army  in  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 
We  must  admit  that  it  was  not  a  highly  perfected  form 
of  government.  It  had  no  constitution;  it  had  no  judi- 
ciary; it  had  not  a  great  many  things  which  we  consider 
indispensable  adjuncts  of  government  to-day.  But  it  had 
the  things  it  needed,  and  the  important  point  to  notice 
is  that  as  fast  as  it  needed  more  it  was  developing  them. 

When  the  war  of  the  Revolution  came,  as  it  did 
before  this  contest  with  New  York  was  settled,  it  found 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants  with  this  simple  machinery 
of  government  in  good  running  order.  Of  course  the 
Revolution  brought  with  it  new  needs.  All  the  emer- 
gencies of  that  war  could  not  be  foreseen,  but  it  was 
pretty  certain  that  the  British  would  operate  from 
Canada  through  the  Champlain  Valley.  That  alone 
would  involve  the  collecting  and  officering  of  troops,  the 
defending  of  frontiers,  and  the  raising  of  funds  for  gen- 
eral expenses.  Then,  too,  this  was  a  cause  of  colonies, 
not  of   towns   merely.     The   New    Hampshire    Grants 


84  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

must  act  as  a  unit.  They  must  be  represented  as  a 
whole,  their  claims  reviewed,  summarized,  formulated, 
and  presented  to  Congress.  Broad  provision  must  be 
made  for  the  broad  needs  imposed  by  a  national  war. 
In  short,  some  new  body  was  needed  of  a  higher  grade 
than  these  committees  of  safety,  even  when  they  assem- 
bled in  general  conference.  Out  of  this  need  arose 
that  series  of  remarkable  conventions  which  built  up 
out  of  the  scattered  townships  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  a  strong,  solidified,  and  stable  commonwealth, 
the  independent  state  of  Vermont. 

The  work  of  these  conventions  demands  a  separate 
.chapter,  but  this  much  can  be  noted  in  passing:  these 
committees,  which  temporarily  took  the  case  in  hand 
when  the  separate  townships  first  felt  the  need  of  com- 
bined effort,  yielded  to  the  more  permanent  organization 
of  the  state,  just  as  in  the  separate  colonies  similar 
committees,  which  began  and  worked  up  the  Revolution, 
yielded  their  organization  to  that  of  the  United  States. 
In  both  cases  temporary  bodies  carried  the  work  on 
through  a  transition  period.  In  both  cases  independ- 
ence brought  permanent  burdens  which  such  bodies 
could  not  well  carry.  In  both  cases  the  functions  of 
these  temporary  bodies  were  then  merged  with  the 
functions  of  a  permanent  government.  The  similarity 
is  more  than  analogy  ;  it  is  identity  of  principle. 

The  "Westminster  Massacre" 

If  there  is  any  one  event  which  illuminates  the  state 
of  affairs  in  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  as  they  passed 
over  the  border  line  between  local  and  national  politics, 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  85 

—  that  is,  from  their  own  conflict  with  New  York  into 
the  larger  conflict  which  the  colonies  as  a  whole  waged 
against  the  mother  country,  —  that  event  is  the  episode 
commonly  known  as  the  "  Westminster  Massacre."  It 
is  an  event  which  stands  on  the  dim  boundary  between 
local  and  national  interests  and  throws  light  in  both 
directions.  It  was  an  occurrence  which  unified  the  senti- 
ments of  the  grants,  intensified  their  opposition  to  New 
York,  and  roused  resentment  against  England,  under  the 
cover  of  whose  authority  New  York  was  acting. 

It  is  noticeable  that  up  to  this  point  the  controversy 
with  New  York  had  involved  only  the  western  part  of 
the  state.  Nothing  had  happened  on  the  eastern  side 
to  indicate  any  great  interest  in  the  question  which  was 
the  all-absorbing  one  west  of  the  mountains.  The  set- 
tlers in  the  Connecticut  Valley  had  shown  no  striking 
zeal  in  espousing  the  cause  against  New  York ;  neither 
had  they  been  of  assistance  to  that  state  in  upholding 
its  authority.  They  were  remaining  quiet,  and  for  a 
good  reason.  Many  of  the  grantees  along  the  Connecti- 
cut River  had  surrendered  their  original  charters  and 
taken  out  new  grants  under  the  seal  of  New  York. 
The  officers  of  that  state,  therefore,  had  little  reason  to 
make  themselves  obnoxious  in  that  vicinity  ;  while  there 
was,  on  the  other  hand,  no  object  for  the  settlers  to 
provoke  or  participate  in  a  quarrel  with  an  authority 
which  they  had  already  recognized. 

Notwithstanding  this  apparent  absence  of  sympathy 
between  the  eastern  and  western  grants  on  this  issue  in 
local  politics,  there  were  strong  underlying  ties  suffi- 
cient to  bind  them   closely  in   the  greater   emergency 


86  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

which  was  to  confront  the  American  colonies  as  a  whole. 
These  settlers  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  had  come,  like 
the  others,  from  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  They 
were  in  close  touch  with  their  Massachusetts  neighbors. 
They  were  of  old  Puritan  stock,  Protestant  to  the  bone. 
When  England  by  the  "  Quebec  bill "  legalized  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  in  Canada,  the  instincts  of  early 
Protestantism  became  manifest.  Lieutenant  Spaulding 
of  Dummerston  referred  to  the  king  as  the  pope  of  Can- 
ada, a  remark  uncomplimentary  but  harmless.  The  royal 
faction  picked  it  up,  however,  and  imprisoned  Spaulding 
on  a  charge  of  treason,  at  Westminster,  Oct.  28,  1774. 

On  the  next  day  a  majority  of  the  excited  inhabitants 
of  Dummerston  met  and  chose  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence "  to  join  with  other  towns  and  respectable 
bodies  of  people,  the  better  to  secure  and  protect  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  themselves  and  fellow  creatures 
from  the  ravages  and  embarrassments  of  the  British 
tyrant  and  his  New  York  and  other  emissaries."  Notice 
the  union  of  the  two  issues  :  the  British  tyrant  and  his 
New  York  emissaries  are  at  last  linked  together  in  the 
public  mind.  The  movement  thus  started  gained  such 
headway  that  a  large  body  of  men  from  Dummerston 
and  the  adjoining  towns  met,  went  to  Westminster, 
opened  the  door  of  the  jail,  and  released  Spaulding  from 
prisonment. 

This  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  If  royal  authority 
was  to  be  maintained,  perverters  of  his  majesty's  justice 
must  be  brought  to  punishment.  But  it  so  happened, 
opportunely  for  the  settlers,  that  almost  simultaneously 
with  their  action  came  news  of  that  memorable  meeting 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  87 

of  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia  on  the  5th 
of  September,  which  was  followed  by  the  closing  of 
his  majesty's  courts  throughout  the  land.  In  all  the 
colonies  except  New  York  royal  authority  was  almost 
universally  suspended. 

But  several  months  were  yet  to  elapse  before  the 
session  of  the  Cumberland  County  Court  at  Westmin- 
ster, and  the  adherents  to  the  royal  cause  were  as  deter- 
mined to  hold  that  session  as  their  opponents  were  that 
it  should  not  be  held.  The  intervening  time  was  there- 
fore used  by  both  parties  in  preparation.  Efforts  were 
made  to  dissuade  the  judges  from  holding  the  court,  but 
they  persisted  that  it  should  be  done.  Some  of  the 
people  then  took  possession  of  the  courthouse  in  order 
to  forestall  the  royal  party.    This  was  on  March  13,  1775. 

About  sunset  of  that  day  the  sheriff  came  with  the 
court  party,  armed  with  guns,  swords,  and  pistols,  and 
demanded  entrance,  at  the  same  time  ordering  the  crowd 
to  disperse.  This  they  refused  to  do  unless  the  sheriff 
ordered  his  men  to  lay  aside  their  arms.  About  ten 
o'clock  that  night  the  chief  justice  went  into  the  crowd 
and  assured  them  that  they  should  hold  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  building  till  morning,  when  the  court  would 
enter  without  arms  and  hear  what  they  had  to  say.  A 
considerable  part  of  the  crowd  then  withdrew,  leaving 
some  men  on  guard  in  the  courthouse,  armed  with  clubs. 

Contrary  to  the  declaration  of  the  judge,  the  sheriff 
and  his  party  approached  about  an  hour  later  and  again 
demanded  entrance.  When  it  was  refused,  they  fired 
into  the  house.  An  assault  was  then  made  and  the 
courthouse   taken,   with    some   twenty   men    in    it    who 


88  HISTORY    OF    VKRMONT 

were  not  able  to  make  their  escape.  The'se  prisoners 
were  thrown  into  the  jail,  and  thither  were  dragged  the 
bodies  of  the  wounded  men,  among  whom  was  a  young 
man  named  William  French,  who  was  dying  with  five 
bullet  holes  in  his  body. 

The  men  who  succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  court- 
house when  the  assault  was  made  rapidly  spread  the 
news  of  the  murder,  and  the  next  day  the  streets  of 
Westminster  swarmed  with  angry  farmers.  The  court 
met  in  the  morning,  but  adjourned  until  afternoon. 
That  court  never  reassembled.  The  town  was  too  hot 
to  hold  the  members  of  the  court  party,  and  the  wise 
ones  left  at  once.  A  jury  of  inquest  brought  in  a  ver- 
dict that  the  man  was  murdered  by  the  court  party,  and 
several  officers  implicated  in  the  killing  were  lodged 
in  jail  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  An  application 
for  their  release  was  made  by  the  chief  justice  of  New 
York,  and  they  were  allowed  to  go. 

These  proceedings  were  sufficient  to  rouse  once  for 
all  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  New  York  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  mountains.  In  the  month  of  April  an 
assembly  of  people  met  at  Westminster  and  renounced 
the  administration  of  the  New  York  government  until 
such  time  as  his  majesty  might  settle  the  controversy 
and  —  so  the  petition  ran  —  remove  them  from  so 
"oppressive  a  jurisdiction."  Eight  days  later  the  battle 
of  Lexington  was  fought.  His  majesty  had  issued  his  last 
order  that  was  ever  observed  by  the  American  colonies. 

Thus  the  settlers  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains 
were  driven  to  make  common  cause  with  their  brethren 
on   the  west   against   New   York ;    thus   the   killing   of 


THE    DEBATABLE    LAND  89 

William  French  at  Westminster  was  the  event  that 
united  the  sentiments  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants 
and  merged  their  issue  of  local  politics  into  that  of 
national  politics  ;  thus  the  war  of  the  Revolution  was 
begun.  The  key  to  the  whole  situation  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  royal  officers  who  so  violently  took  matters  into 
their  own  hands  at  Westminster  were  New  York  officers, 
and  that  of  all  the  northern  colonies  New  York  was  the 
most  loyal  to  the  crown  and  the  most  lukewarm  in  its 
sympathy  for  the  American  cause. 

An  anonymous  ballad  published  in  1779  shows  that 
the  affair  at  Westminster  was  worked  up  along  with 
other  events  into  popular  airs  to  infuse  a  more  martial 
spirit  into  the  vox  popidi.     One  stanza  runs  : 

But  Vengeance  let  us  Wreak,  my  Boys, 

For  Matron,  Maid  and  Spinster ; 
Whose  joys  are  fled,  whose  Homes  are  sad, 

For  the  Youth  of  Red  Westminster. 

Above  the  grave  of  William  French  at  Westminster 
was  placed  a  stone  with  an  inscription  which  reflects 
both  the  spirit  and  the  literature  of  the  times. 

In  Memory  of  William  French  Son  to  Mr.  Nathaniel  French 
Who  Was  Shot  at  Westminster  March  ye  13th  1775  by  the  hands 
of  Cruel  Ministerial  tools  of  Georg  ye  3d  in  the  Corthouse  at  a  1 1 
a  Clock  at  Night  in  the  22d  year  of  his  Age. 

Here  William   French  his  Body  lies 
For  Murder  his  blood  for  Vengeance  cries 
King  Georg  the  third  his  Tory  crew 
tha  with  a  bawl  his  head  Shot  threw 
For  Liberty  and  his  Countrys  Good 
He  Lost  his  Life  his  Dearest  blood. 


CHAPTKR    V 

THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 

Saratoga,  August  20,  1777. 
The    Hampshire    Grants    in    particular,   a    country    unpeopled    and 
almost  unknown  in  the  last  war,  now  abounds  in  the  most  active  and 
most  rebellious  race  on  the  continent,  and  hangs  like  a  gathering  storm 
on  my  left.  —  Bitrgoyne  in  a  private  letter  to  Lord  Germaine. 

The  Taking  of  Ticonderoga 

While  Vermont  was  fighting  her  way  along  toward 
independent  statehood,  the  thirteen  American  colonies, 
joined  together,  fought  out  a  quarrel  with  England 
which  left  them  an  independent  nation  so  far  as  nations 
can  be  independent.  This  misunderstanding  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  family,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  the 
American  Revolution,  was  so  much  larger  than  the  little 
wrangle  which  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  were  having 
with  New  York  that  it  completely  obscured  the  latter 
for  the  time  being.  We  have  come  to  a  point,  there- 
fore, where  we  shall  have  to  turn  from  local  politics 
to  notice  that  larger  question  of  national  politics.  Into 
the  causes  of  the  Revolution  we  cannot  go ;  of  its 
progress  we  can  only  note  such  parts  as  touch  the 
history  of  our  state. 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  Cham- 
plain  Valley,  the  military  posts  on  the  lake  were  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  English.  The  situation,  then,  at  the 
opening   of    the   Revolution   was   this  :    the  forts  were 

90 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  91 

garrisoned  by  British  soldiers  ;  the  British  government 
possessed  Canada  and  its  resources.  This  military  advan- 
tage would  be  used  to  operate  upon  the  northern  border 
in  quelling  the  rebellious  colonies.  Along  the  old  war 
route  the  British  possessed  the  same  facilities  for  bring- 
ing their  forces  into  action  as  the  French  had  possessed 
years  before  in  operating  against  the  English. 

In  New  England  it  appeared  to  the  leading  spirits 
of  the  Revolution  that  the  danger  of  a  British  invasion 
from  Canada  would  be  greatly  lessened  if  these  military 
posts  were  taken  away  from  the  British  at  the  start, 
before  they  had  been  strengthened  by  additions  to  the 
garrison  and  preparations  for  defense.  The  idea  was 
conceived  in  several  quarters.  An  agent  who  passed 
through  the  grants  on  a  secret  mission  to  Canada  wrote 
to  the  Boston  Committee  of  Correspondence  that  such 
a  move  would  be  desirable,  and  that  the  Green  Moun- 
tain Boys  would  undertake  it.  Parties  in  Connecticut 
also  matured  the  same  project  and  entered  at  once 
upon  its  execution. 

After  raising  funds  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
expedition,  the  Connecticut  patriots  hastened  to  Ben- 
nington to  confer  with  Ethan  Allen.  They  found  him 
enthusiastic,  and  preparations  for  the  enterprise  were 
immediately  begun.  In  a  few  days  Allen  had  at  Castle- 
ton  nearly  two  hundred  volunteers.  The  Connecticut 
contingent  had  picked  up  some  fifty  men  on  their  way  to 
Castleton.  The  total  number  was  sufficient  to  warrant 
the  attempt.  Presently  Benedict  Arnold  arrived  from 
Massachusetts,  authorized  by  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
mittee   of    Safety    to    take    charge    of   the    expedition. 


92  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

The  Green  Mountain  Boys  preferred  their  own  leaders, 
Ethan  Allen  and  Seth  Warner  ;  and  although  Arnold 
accompanied  the  expedition  he  was  not  put  in  command. 

To  gain  intelligence  of  the  conditions  at  the  fort  a 
spy  was  sent  into  the  works.  In  the  guise  of  an  awk- 
ward farmer  who  wanted  to  be  shaved,  Noah  Phelps 
passed  unsuspected  in  and  out  and  gained  the  needed 
information.  The  march  was  made  in  two  detachments 
from  Castleton  to  the  lake.  One  party  was  sent  under 
Major  Beach  through  Rutland,  Pittsford,  Brandon, 
Middlebury,  and  Whiting,  a  circuit  of  about  sixty  miles, 
in  which  they  gathered  recruits,  to  Shoreham.  Allen 
meantime  marched  thither  the  remainder  of  the  men, 
going  north  till  they  struck  the  old  military  road  which 
John  Stark  had  worked  on  sixteen  years  before  and 
following  that  toward  the  lake.  On  the  evening  of  the 
9th  of  May  the  detachments  gathered  by  the  lake  oppo- 
site Ticonderoga,  and  the  garrison  at  the  old  fort  had 
not  heard  a  whisper  of  the  design.  Two  hundred  and 
seventy  men  were  at  the  water  waiting  to  cross. 

During  the  night,  by  stratagem  and  stealth,  boats 
were  obtained  to  serve  as  transports.  Under  cover  of 
the  fleeting  darkness  Allen  embarked  with  about  eighty 
men,  all  that  the  boats  would  carry.  They  landed  near 
the  fort  and  sent  back  the  boats  for  the  others.  But 
while  they  waited  the  day  began  to  dawn,  and  Allen 
dared  to  delay  no  longer.  He  called  on  those  who  would 
follow  him  to  raise  their  muskets,  and  every  gun  went 
up.  He  turned  toward  the  fort,  guided  by  a  young  lad 
who  had  played  with  the  boys  at  the  garrison  until  he 
had  grown  familiar  with  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  93 

place.  Thus  in  the  gray  of  the  morning  the  little 
company  silently  advanced. 

The  sentry  at  the  gate  snapped  his  fusee  at  Allen, 
but  it  missed  fire ;  and  the  first  warning  which  came  to 
the  garrison  was  the  sound  of  the  huzzas  as  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  formed  in  line  on  the  parade  ground 
within  the  fort,  while  their  leader  was  demanding  of 
Delaplace,  the  British  commander,  who  stood  half-clad 
at  the  door  of  his  chamber,  the  immediate  surrender 
of  the  works,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and 
the  Continental  Congress."1 

So  in  early  morning  on  the  10th  of  May,  1775, 
without  the  firing  of  a  gun  or  the  loss  of  a  life,  Ticon- 
deroga  was  taken  with  its  garrison  and  stores  by  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys.  One  writer  has  thus  pictured 
the  situation :  "  Before  the  members  of  the  second 
Continental  Congress  had  breakfasted  the  first  day  of 
their  session,  the  key  to  Lake  Champlain  and  the  guns 
at  whose  bidding  General  Howe  was  to  evacuate  Boston 
the  next  spring  had  been  captured  by  a  band  of  back- 
woodsmen under  the  command  of  New  York  outlaws." 
Crown  Point  was  taken  on  the  same  day  by  Seth  Warner, 
and  with  it  over  a  hundred  pieces  of  cannon.  A  fleet 
fitted  up  by  Arnold  and  Allen  presently  sailed  down  the 
lake  and  captured  an  armed  sloop  lying  at  St.  John's. 
The  mastery  of  Lake  Champlain  was  complete. 

Congress  voted  to  pay  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  for 
their  services  at  Ticonderoga  and  recommended  that 
a  regiment  be  formed  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants. 

1  This  is  the  language  which  Allen  says  he  used.  Tradition  reports 
another  version  of  his  words,  less  elegant  but  equally  forceful. 


94  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

A  convention  met  at  Dorset  in  July  and  chose  officers; 
Seth  Warner  was  made  commander.  Ethan  Allen  was 
taken  in  a  premature  attempt  to  capture  Montreal  and 
was  sent  in  irons  to  England.  He  was  later  returned 
to  New  York  and  exchanged  in  1778.  Warner's  regi- 
ment assisted  in  the  military  operations  which  led  to 
the  taking  of  Montreal  after  its  defender,  Carleton, 
abandoning  the  city  to  its  fate,  had  escaped  down  the 
river  by  night  in  a  canoe. 

At  Quebec,  whither  Carleton  had  fled,  the  American 
troops  met  with  disaster.  Then  began  a  long  retreat  of 
the  broken  army  back  to  Ticonderoga.  The  commander, 
Wooster,  wrote  to  Warner  as  the  army,  defeated,  sick 
with  smallpox,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  country, 
began  to  withdraw  : 

You  and  the  valiant  Green  Mountain  Corps  are  in  our  neigh- 
borhood. .  .  .  You  all  have  arms  and  ever  stand  ready  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  your  brother  in  distress.  .  .  .  Let  the  men  set 
out  at  once,  by  tens,  twenties,  thirties  or  fifties.  I  am  confident 
that  I  shall  see  you  here  with  your  men  in  a  very  short  time. 

He  did.  Warner's  regiment  did  good  service  in  pro- 
tecting the  rear  of  the  defeated  and  retreating  army 
and  bringing  it  safe  to  Ticonderoga. 

It  would  be  easy  to  overestimate  the  importance  of 
the  capture  of  Ticonderoga.  About  a  hundred  pieces 
of  cannon,  one  thirteen-inch  mortar,  and  a  number  of 
swivels  were  captured  there,  and  a  quantity  of  military 
stores  ;  but  the  strategic  advantage  which  would  have 
been  gained  by  retaining  the  fort  was  entirely  lost  two 
years  later  when  the  American  forces  abandoned  it  on 
the  approach  of  Burgoyne's  army.     The  important  fact 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  95 

is  that  the  efforts  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  placed 
it  at  the  disposal  of  the  American  cause  to  use  for  better 
or  worse.  The  part  they  took  in  the  affair  proved  their 
ability,  their  intrepidity,  and  that  they  were  as  true 
patriots  as  could  be  found  on  the  continent. 

The  details  of  the  campaign  in  the  Champlain  Valley 
for  the  next  year  we  need  not  follow.  For  several 
months  of  the  year  1776  there  was  a  navy  yard  at  each 
end  of  the  lake  ;  the  British  at  St.  John's,  the  Americans 
at  Skenesboro,  each  trying  to  outstrip  the  other  in  pre- 
paring a  fleet  which  would  command  its  waters.  It  was 
hard  business  building  a  navy  on  inland  waters  from 
green  timber  freshly  cut  in  the  forest  and  dragged  by 
hand  to  the  lake  side,  with  no  ship  stores  except  such  as 
could  be  brought  from  long  distances  over  almost  impass- 
able roads.  The  ship  carpenters  of  New  England  were 
busy  at  the  ports  ;  naval  construction  without  skilled 
help  was  no  easy  task.  In  this  respect  the  British  had 
an  advantage.  Six  armed  vessels  were  sent  from  Eng- 
land, brought  by  water  to  the  Falls  of  Chambly,  and 
those  which  were  too  large  to  be  hauled  over  the  rapids 
were  taken  apart  and  put  together  again  above.  The 
smaller  ones  were  dragged  up  entire. 

Arnold  took  command  of  the  homemade  American 
flotilla,  sailed  boldly  down  the  lake  toward  Isle  la  Motte 
to  meet  the  foe  in  October,  and  having  met  him  sailed 
back  again  as  fast  as  possible  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  hopelessness  of  fighting  a 
force  of  twice  his  strength.  He  sailed  directly  through 
the  enemy's  lines,  in  the  darkness  and  fog,  without  being 
discovered,  and  the  next  morning  was  entirely  out  of 


96  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

sight  of  the  British.  They  set  out  in  full  chase  and, 
the  wind  being  favorable,  overtook  the  American  fleet 
about  noon  on  October  13,  a  few  leagues  from  Crown 
Point.  Finding  escape  as  impossible  as  victory,  with 
the  British  at  his  heels,  Arnold  ran  his  fleet  aground 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Otter  Creek  and  burned  the  ships  to 
the  water's  edge. 

Delayed  by  the  south  winds,  the  British  tardily  took 
Crown  Point,  to  find  it  only  a  dismantled  fortress  from 
which  the  Americans  had  moved,  bag  and  baggage.  The 
British  commander,  Carleton,  then  threatened  Ticon- 
deroga.  But  the  south  wind  which  had  so  long  held 
him  back  had  proved  a  daily  blessing  to  the  fortress. 
The  works  were  strengthened,  and  day  by  day  rein- 
forcements came  trooping  through  the  forest  to  its 
defense.  Two  regiments  were  temporarily  furnished  by 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  After  a  month  of  recon- 
noitering  and  contemplation  Carleton  reembarked  his 
army  at  Crown   Point  and  sailed  back  to  Canada. 

We  can  sum  up  the  whole  campaign  thus  far  by 
saying  that  in  1775  the  Americans  drove  the  British 
from  the  lake,  took  Montreal,  and  invaded  Canada  as 
far  as  Quebec;  while  in  1776  the  British  drove  the 
Americans  out  of  Canada  and  as  far  back  on  the  lake 
as  Ticonderoga. 

The  Battles  of  Hubbardton  and  Bennington 

In  1777  the  British  began  a  plan  of  campaign  one  part 
of  which  was  to  consist  of  gaining  and  occupying  the 
two  valleys  of  Lake  Cham  plain  and  the  Hudson  River. 
By  doing  this  they  would  hold  an  unbroken  military  line 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


97 


from  Canada  to  New  York  harbor  and  cut  off  the  New 
England  colonies  from  the  rest  of  the  country. 

This  particular  feature  of  the  plan  was  not  one  which 
the  settlers  of  Vermont  could  anticipate  with  any  pleas- 
ure. Life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  might 
be  seriously  interfered  with  along  the  western  border. 
The  settlers  of  Vermont  began  to  feel  a  greater  common 


■ 

B 

Pi| 

i 

■ 

\-*jB5= 

^p 

r    1     B 

,i, 

/»>»**-.''*  *i 

%ZM  r?Wmm 


The  Sax  Croire  Mill  (long  since  burned)  and  the  Bridge 

over  which  Hessians  marched  to  the 

Battle  of  Bennington 

interest  with  the  American  colonies.  Their  homes  were 
again  at  stake.  They  had  come  from  Connecticut,  from 
Massachusetts,  from  Rhode  Island  to  the  grants,  and 
had  left  behind  them  ties  of  blood  and  friendship.  They 
possessed  the  same  hardy  traits  as  their  kinsmen,  for 
they  were  bred  in  the  same  conditions.  They  knew 
what  it  meant  to  have  their  independence  threatened. 
They  were  essentially  part  and  parcel  of  the  American 
colonies  in  this  cause. 


98  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

The  command  of  that  section  of  the  British  army  which 
was  to  move  south  from  Canada  was  given  to  General 
Burgoyne.  He  met  with  only  slight  opposition  on  Lake 
Champlain  and  took  Ticonderoga  without  a  blow.  He 
secured  there  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pieces  of 
cannon,  besides  shipping  and  bateaux,  provisions  and 
military  stores.  It  is  said  that  over  seventeen  hundred 
barrels  of  flour  and  seventy  tons  of  salt  provisions  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  British,  besides  a  large  drove  of 
cattle.  It  looked  as  though  Burgoyne  was  equipped  for 
a  triumphant  march  through  the  woods  to  the  Hudson 
River  and  so  on  to  New  York. 

But  on  the  portage  from  Lake  George  to  the  Hudson 
River  luck  began  to  turn.  General  Schuyler,  unable  to 
meet  him  on  equal  terms  in  open  fighting,  used  every 
resource  possible  to  retard  his  progress.  He  cut  trees 
of  the  forest  across  his  path ;  he  filled  up  the  creeks  ; 
he  broke  down  the  bridges  ;  he  put  every  conceivable 
obstacle  in  his  way.  It  took  Burgoyne  fifty  days  to 
march  his  army  seventy-five  miles.  The  delay  gave 
New  England  militiamen  time  to  gather  along  the  line 
of  advance. 

Meantime  the  Americans  had  met  with  a  disastrous 
defeat  at  Hubbardton.  As  soon  as  the  British  had  dis- 
covered the  retreat  of  the  Americans  from  Ticonderoga 
they  started  after  them  in  eager  pursuit.  St.  Clair's 
plan  had  been  to  send  the  provisions  and  stores  by 
galleys  to  Skenesboro,  and  to  march  the  army  thither 
by  land  through  Hubbardton  and  Castleton.  All  might 
have  gone  well  had  not  a  French  officer,  on  abandoning 
his  house,  imprudently  set  fire  to  it.     The  result  was 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


99 


doubly  disastrous.  The  light  of  the  flames  revealed  to 
the  British  the  operations  of  the  American  forces,  and 
the  knowledge  that  they  were  discovered  threw  the 
latter  into  confusion. 

However,  the  rear  guard  were  brought  off  in  good 
order  about  four  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  July  6.  The 
troops  on  arriving 
at  Hubbardton 
halted  for  a  time. 
Seth  Warner  was 
put  in  command 
of  the  rear  guard 
and  the  stragglers 
who  kept  coming 
in.  St.  Clair  went 
on  to  Castleton. 
At  about  seven 
o'clock  the  next 
morning  the  pur- 
suing British  de- 
tachments, who 
had  slept  on  their 
arms  a  few  miles 
away  that  night, 
attacked  the  American  rear  and  defeated  it  after  a  sharp 
fight,  completely  routing  the  entire  force  with  severe  loss. 
The  galleys  on  the  lake  were  also  overtaken  by  British 
frigates  and  gunboats  near  Skenesboro,  now  Whitehall. 
On  the  approach  of  the  frigates  the  Americans  aban- 
doned the  galleys  and  succeeded  in  blowing  up  three  of 
them.     The  remaining  two  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands. 


Monument  marking  Stark's  Camping 
Ground 


100 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Notwithstanding  these  successes,  the  troubles  which 
fell  upon  Burgoyne  were  stripping  his  army  of  its 
efficiency.  The  provisions  taken  at  Ticonderoga  went 
rapidly  during  his  slow  progress.     Transportation  was 

poor ;  fresh  supplies 
were  not  abundant. 
From  the  latter  part 
of  July  to  the  middle 
of  August  his  army 
was  busy  bringing  for- 
ward supplies  and 
bateaux  from  Lake 
George.  But  his 
utmost  diligence  was 
insufficient  to  meet 
his  needs.  It  became 
evident  that  if  he  was 
to  carry  his  campaign 
through  with  success 
he  must  draw  on  the 
supplies  of  the  enemy 
to  replenish  his  own 
stores.  The  resources 
in  his  immediate  vicinity  were  soon  exhausted.  Reports 
came  to  him  that  at  Bennington,  guarded  only  by  the 
militia,  lay  a  large  quantity  of  provisions  gathered  for 
the  use  of  the  American  army.  He  determined  to  secure 
those  stores  for  the  British  army. 

1  This  portrait  of  Major  General  John  Stark  was  made,  on  the  order 
of  the  legislature  of  New  Hampshire,  by  U.  D.  Tenney,  from  an  origi- 
nal sketch  by  Miss  Hannah  Crowninshield  in  1S10,  Stark  then  being 
eighty-two  years  of  age. 


John  Stark1 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


OI 


To  execute  this  move  he  placed  a  select  body  of  Ger- 
man troops,  some  Canadians,  and  about  a  hundred  Indians 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Baum.  To  facilitate  oper- 
ations further  he  ordered  another  detachment  to  post  itself 


Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Bennington 


on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson,  opposite  Saratoga ;  while 
still  another  he  sent  under  Breyman  to  station  itself  at 
Battenkill,  within  supporting  distance  of  the  main  body 
under    Baum.      Meantime    farmers    with    flintlock    and 


102  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

powderhorn  were  flocking  to  Bennington  from  all  sides. 
Seth  Warner  rallied  them  from  the  Vermont  towns,  while 
New  Hampshire  responded  to  the  call  with  a  splendid  bri- 
gade under  a  splendid  leader,  none  other  than  John  Stark. 

Since  we  left  this  man  cutting  the  road  from  Number 
Four  to  Crown  Point  he  had  seen  much  service.  Second 
to  none  as  a  leader  of  rangers  in  the  last  French  and 
Indian  war,  and  having  served  at  Bunker  Hill,  he  was  a 
man  whom  the  farmer  militia  of  New  Hampshire  might 
well  delight  to  follow.  He  joined  personal  bravery  to 
generalship  of  the  highest  order,  as  his  preparations  for 
the  encounter  at  Bennington  testify ;  for  a  better  piece 
of  military  work  it  would  be  hard  to  find  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. Beginning  with  a  scattered  militia,  with  almost 
no  supplies,  —  think  of  an  army  with  one  pair  of  bullet 
molds,  with  powder  half  spoiled,  and  destitute  even  of 
camp  kettles!  —  with  a  range  of  mountains  and  a  stretch 
of  wilderness  to  cross  by  wretched  roads,  he  appeared 
at  Manchester  in  an  almost  incredibly  short  time,  with 
the  forces  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  organ- 
ized and  well  in  hand.  Companies  of  Vermont  rangers 
joined  him,  and  accompanied  by  Warner  he  moved  on 
toward  Bennington. 

As  to  tactics  Stark  had  no  choice.  With  no  cavalry, 
no  artillery,  no  commissariat,  no  transportation,  no  provi- 
sions to  keep  an  army  in  idleness,  he  was  simply  forced  to 
attack.  It  made  no  difference  that  half  the  troops  were 
without  bayonets  ;  he  had  men  and  his  men  had  implicit 
confidence  in  him.  Already  he  had  shown  a  celerity  and 
precision  of  movement  with  an  irregular  force  in  the  face 
of  tremendous  difficulties.     This  was  a  premonition  of 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  103 

success;  and  it  was  about  the  only  one  that  could  be  found 
in  the  situation  as  the  two  armies  lay  fronting  each  other 
on  the  eve  of  battle. 

The  story  of  the  fight  itself  may  be  briefly  told.    When 
Baum  found  that  he  was  to  be  opposed  he  halted  in  a 


David  Robinson  Samuel  Fay 

Benjamin  Harwood*  Abisha  Kingsley  Aaron  Robinson  Samuel  Safford  1 

The  Last  Surviving  Veterans  of  the  Battle  of  Bennington 

(From  a  daguerreotype  taken  in  1848) 

favorable  position  in  Hoosac,  New  York,  near  the  present 
state  line,  sent  back  to  Breyman  for  reinforcements, 
and  began  to  intrench.      A  rain  on  the  15th  of  August 

1  Benjamin  Harsvood  was  the  first  male  child  born  in  Bennington. 
Captain  Samuel  Safford  was  the  first  man  to  scale  the  Tory  breastworks 
at  the  battle  of  Bennington. 


04 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


prevented  immediate  attack  and  gave  the  British  a  chance 
still  further  to  strengthen  their  trenches.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  1 6th  Stark  sent  two  hundred  men  to  attack 

the  rear  of  the  enemy, 
three  hundred  to 
attack  the  rear  of  the 
enemy's  right,  two 
hundred  to  attack  the 
extreme  right,  while 
he  and  Warner  led  the 
direct  assault.  The 
fighting  began  about 
three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon ;  it  lasted 
two  hours.  Stark 
said:  "It  was  the 
hottest  I  ever  saw." 
The  enemy  were  all 
killed  or  taken  pris- 
oners. 

Hardly    had    the 
prisoners   been   col- 
lected and  sent  back 
to  the   Bennington 
meetinghouse  under 
guard,   when   Brey- 
man's  reinforcements 
came  up  and  a  second 
battle    began.      Most   opportunely,    Warner's    regiment 
arrived  from  Manchester  and  engaged  them.     At  sun- 
down the  British  gave  way  and  were  pursued  till  dark. 


B  EN  N I N  ( '.TON    M  ONUM  ENT 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  105 

A  thousand  stand  of  arms  and  six  hundred  prisoners 
were  left  in  possession  of  the  Americans. 

In  point  of  military  importance  this  battle  ranks  far 
higher  than  the  dramatic  capture  of  Ticonderoga.  It 
was  an  actual  engagement  which  tested  both  generalship 
and  fighting  capacity  to  the  utmost.  It  was  a  force  of 
farmers  fighting  a  force  of  regulars.  It  preserved  for 
the  Americans  the  supplies  which  were  the  great  object 
of  the  expedition.  It  protected  the  territory  eastward 
from  military  operations  and  from  any  further  danger  of 
invasion.  It  depleted  Burgoyne's  forces.  It  was  the 
first  of  a  series  of  disasters  which  led  to  his  surren- 
der, the  turning  point  of  the  war,  and  the  recognition 
of  American  independence.  Burgoyne's  own  opinion, 
expressed  shortly  after  the  battle  in  a  letter  to  Lord 
George  Germaine,  was  as  follows:  "The  chief  subject 
of  regret  on  our  side,  after  that  which  any  loss  of  gallant 
men  naturally  occasions,  is  the  disappointment  of  not 
obtaining  live  cattle,  and  the  loss  of  time  in  bringing 
forward  the  magazines." 

On  the  American  side  it  was  strictly  a  people's  fight, 
not  directed  by  the  government,  not  provided  for  by 
the  government,  not  fought  by  a  regular  force,  not  com- 
manded by  a  regular  officer.  While  the  news  of  the 
splendid  victory  was  on  the  way  to  Congress,  that  body 
was  publicly  censuring  the  man  who  won  it,  and  con- 
demning the  course  of  the  New  Hampshire  Assembly 
in  allowing  Stark  the  separate  command  which  made 
the  victory  possible.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  Congress 
that  when  the  result  of  the  battle  was  known  it  passed 
a  vote  of  thanks  for  Stark's  services  and  promoted  him 


io6 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general  in  the  regular  army. 
Something  over  one  hundred  years  later  the  corner 
stone  was  laid  of  that  monument  at  Bennington  which 
pays  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  scene  and  deed.  In  the 
portico  of  the  State  House  at  Montpelier  one  may 
see  the  two  brass  cannon  which  were  taken  on  that 
day  from   the   Hessians. 

Some  Results  of  the  War 

With  the  surrender  of  Eurgoyne  on  the  1 7th  of 
October  war    in    the   immediate   vicinity    of    this   state 

ceased,  the  danger 
of  invasion  came  to 
an  end,  and  the 
yeomen  were  able 
to  return  to  their 
homes.  Forts  were 
temporarily  occu- 
pied at  Peacham, 
Corinth,  Bethel, 
and  Barnard.  A 
fort  was  maintained 
at  Newbury  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  the  cutting  of  the  military  road  from 
Newbury  to  Hazen's  Notch  was  accomplished. 

The  war  brought  great  hardship,  uncertainty,  and 
danger  to  the  people  of  the  state.  In  some  sections  it 
pretty  effectually  broke  up  the  western  settlements.  At 
the  time  of  Burgoyne's  invasion  settlements  had  been 
made  in  nearly  every  town  in  what  are  now  Bennington 
and  Rutland  counties  and  in  some  towns  north  of  the 


One  of  the  Cannon  taken  at  the 
Battle  of  Bennington 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


107 


latter.  The  beginning  of  his  invasion  produced  great 
excitement,  and  this  increased  with  every  advancing 
step  of  the  army.  As  he  passed  through  the  lake  the 
settlers  along  the  shore  withdrew  toward  the  south, 
and  by  the  time  he 
was  on  the  Hudson 
River  there  were  few 
farms  north  of  the 
present  county  of 
Bennington  which 
were  occupied  by 
their  owners. 

The  British  had  a 
notion  that  as  soon  as 
their  army  had  occu- 
pied the  country  the 
inhabitants  of  this 
state  would  flock  to 
the  royal  standard. 
Burgoyne  attempted 
to  hasten  this  much 
desired  end  by  issuing 
a  proclamation  which 
breathed  out  threat- 
enings  and  slaughter 
against  those  who  clung  to  the  American  cause  but  prom- 
ised protection  to  those  who  should  join  him  or  remain 
quietly  at  home.  But  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  flocked 
to  other  standards  than  his,  and  by  the  time  he  wrote 
from  his  camp  near  Saratoga  to  Lord  Germaine,  Burgoyne 
himself  was  fully  aware  of  the  temper  of  the  people. 


Memorial  Monument 


ioS  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

During  the  period  of  Burgoyne's  visitation  companies 
of  armed  men  scoured  the  country  searching  for  recruits 
and  provisions.  Indian  scouting  parties  not  infrequently 
put  in  an  unwelcome  appearance  in  the  neighborhood  of 
frontier  towns.  Although  they  rarely  molested  the 
inhabitants,  their  presence  was  a  menace  totally  destruc- 
tive to  peace  of  mind.  The  British  control  of  Lake 
Champlain  placed  the  western  borders  at  the  mercy  of 
their  Indian  allies  if  they  chose  to  reap  the  harvest. 

A  few  instances  will  illustrate  the  prevailing  con- 
ditions. Weybridge  was  settled  in  1775,  in  almost 
unbroken  forest,  by  settlers  who  came  up  the  creek  in 
boats  and  located  on  the  banks.  The  little  settlement 
was  visited  in  1778  by  Indians  and  Tories,  the  property 
destroyed,  and  the  people  taken  as  prisoners  to  Quebec. 
Occasionally  on  similar  raids  the  women  and  children 
were  left  behind  in  a  condition  worse  than  captivity; 
for  they  had  no  protection  from  the  wild  beasts,  no  shel- 
ter save  the  cellar  of  some  ruined  home,  and  perhaps 
no  food. 

The  severest  blow  which  fell  on  any  settlement  dur- 
ing the  war  was  the  raid  on  Royalton  in  1780.  It  was 
originally  designed  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  Lieu- 
tenant Whitcomb  at  Newbury,  who  was  said  to  have 
wantonly  shot  and  robbed  a  British  officer  in  1776.  The 
party  consisted  of  about  three  hundred  men,  mostly 
Indians.  On  their  way  up  the  Winooski  River  —  the 
old  "  French  road"  —  they  fell  in  with  a  party  of 
hunters  from  Newbury,  who  told  them  that  the  town  was 
anticipating  the  attack  and  was  in  a  state  of  defense. 
The    story    saved     Newbury    but    brought    disaster    to 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  109 

Royalton,  for  thither  the  party  now  turned.  The  place 
was  laid  in  ashes,  a  few  men  were  killed  and  most  of 
the  remainder  taken  prisoners.  They  were  well  treated 
on  their  way  to  Canada  and  were  liberated  in  the 
following  summer. 

After  this  raid  alarm  was  so  universal  throughout  the 
state  that  the  shouts  of  a  surveying  party  or  the  burn- 
ing of  a  pile  of  brush  in  a  back  pasture  was  enough  to 
spread  terror  through  the  countryside.  At  Berkshire, 
even  after  Burgoyne's  defeat,  it  was  deemed  best  to 
remove  the  women  and  children  to  Connecticut  to  avoid 
the  danger  from  strolling  bands  of  Indians.  Such  a  trip 
was  actually  made,  under  the  escort  of  a  few  soldiers, 
the  party  going  through  the  wilderness  by  blazed  trees, 
camping  in  the  woods  at  night,  running  constant  dangers 
from  wild  beasts  and  Indians,  and  enduring  perils  as 
great  as  those  from  which  they  fled. 

When  the  enemy  were  in  any  neighborhood  every 
device  was  resorted  to  for  the  concealment  and  preser- 
vation of  property.  Cattle  were  driven  back  to  the 
mountains  ;  the  family  barrels  of  pork  and  beef  were 
hidden  in  the  earth.  The  settlers  plundered  the  houses 
of  suspected  Tories  as  mercilessly  as  they  anticipated 
that  their  own  might  be  plundered  by  the  British. 
To  be  known  as  a  sympathizer  with  the  crown  or  an 
allegiant  to  the  British  cause  was  to  be  stripped  of 
everything,  even  to  the  very  clotheslines. 

When  hostilities  ceased  in  the  immediate  vicinity  the 
state  waxed  in  wealth  and  population,  even  during  the 
remainder  of  the  war.  The  reasons  for  this  we  shall 
presently  learn.     Summing  up  the  situation,  it  may  be 


IIO  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

said  that  Vermont  gained  more  from  the  Revolution 
than  she  lost.  Perhaps  no  state  gained  more  at  lower 
cost.  She  came  out  of  the  war  with  far  more  than  she 
carried  into  it.  Between  the  time  of  Burgoyne's  com- 
ing and  the  battle  of  Bennington  her  people  had  formed 
a  state.  The  New  Hampshire  Grants  ceased  to  be,  and 
Vermont  began.  The  telling  of  that  story  needs  a 
chapter  by  itself.  After  reading  it  you  will  probably 
say  that  Vermont  politics  at  least  did  not  suffer  much 
by  reason  of  the  Revolution. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE    GODS    OF    THE    HILLS 

Westminster  Court  House, 
January  15,  1777. 
This  convention,  whose  members  are  duly  chosen  by  the  free  voice 
of  their  constituents  in  the  several  towns,  on  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  in  meeting  assembled,  in  our  own  names,  and  in  behalf  of  our 
constituents,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  publicly  declare,  that  the  dis- 
trict of  territory  comprehending  and  usually  known  by  the  name  and 
description  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  of  right  ought  to  be  and  is 
hereby  declared  forever  hereafter  to  be  considered  as  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent jurisdiction  or  state.  —  Extract  from  Vermont's  declaration  of 
independence. 

How  Vermont  was  made  ;    the  Conventions  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants 

The  above  extract  may  be  called  Vermont's  declaration 
of  independence.  This  and  a  revised  form  prepared  for 
the  press  are  a  comprehensive  and  authoritative  expres- 
sion of  what  had  come  to  be  a  matter  of  fact  and  was 
demonstrated  so  to  be  in  fourteen  years  of  independent 
statehood  which  followed.  It  is  in  view  of  this  that  we 
may  say  that  Vermont  got  more  out  of  the  Revolution 
than  she  put  into  it.  So  far  as  her  share  in  it  was 
concerned  it  was  a  valuable  investment.  It  bore  lighter 
upon  her  than  upon  any  colony ;  it  swelled  her  popula- 
tion ;  it  gave  her  military  honor ;  it  developed  her  states- 
men; it  gave  her  people  a  common  interest  and  unified 
their  sentiments;  it  strengthened  her  for  her  contest  with 


i  [2  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Now  York;  and  it  made  it  possible  for  her  to  become  in 
name  and  deed  what  she  claimed  to  be,  an  independent 
republic. 

The  incidence  of  the  Revolution,  following  as  it  did 
the  already  sharply  defined  contest  with  New  York,  gave 
a  magnificent  opportunity  to  the  people  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants  to  develop  their  incipient  machinery 
of  self-government  into  the  form  of  a  commonwealth. 
Local  self-government  they  had  possessed  from  their 
earliest  days  of  settlement.  We  have  also  seen  cooper- 
ative efforts  made  on  the  part  of  several  towns  to  resist 
the  execution  of  repugnant  measures  of  New  York 
authorities.  Conventions  of  committees  were  finally 
held  to  assume  the  management  of  affairs  in  this  espe- 
cial emergency.  But  such  needs  were  unusual  and  irreg- 
ular for  a  state,  not  permanent  and  not  in  line  with  the 
normal  development  of  civic  problems. 

There  would  come  a  time,  if  the  grants  were  ever  to 
reach  the  dignity  of  statehood,  when  the  demand  would 
be  for  a  civic  machinery  of  permanent  and  high  order. 
These  emergency  needs,  this  emergency  government, 
would  pass  away  when  the  particular  necessity  for  its 
creation  had  passed.  The  needs  of  a  state  are  endur- 
ing, ever  growing,  and  arise  from  an  expanding  life 
within  as  well  as  from  pressure  of  forces  exerted  from 
without.  It  was  the  development  of  her  inner  life  that 
wrought  in  Vermont  both  the  need  and  the  capacity  for 
statehood.     The  need  was  constitutional. 

To  approach  the  subject  in  its  simplest  form  let  us 
follow  the  historical  steps  in  the  growth  of  this  consti- 
tutional need.      If  you  turn  back  to  the  section  entitled 


THE    GODS    OF    THE    HILLS  I  13 

"  Beginnings  of  Statecraft,"  you  will  recall  the  simple 
government  that  existed  before  the  Revolution,  and  the 
remark  that  the  war  brought  a  necessity  for  some  body 
of  a  higher  grade  than  existed  before  to  represent  the 
grants  as  a  whole.  That  need  developed  the  conven- 
tions which  we  are  about  to  consider. 

These  conventions  were  composed  of  representatives 
or  delegates  sent  by  the  different  towns.  The  first  one 
was  called  by  circular  letter  and  was  held  at  Dorset 
in  July,  1775.  Its  principal  work  was  to  choose  field 
officers  and  others  to  take  charge  of  the  military  activi- 
ties brought  on  by  the  war.  This  was  a  necessity  almost 
wholly  due  to  the  colonial  revolutionary  movement. 

But  the  second  convention  revealed  something  dif- 
ferent. It  also  was  held  at  Dorset,  in  January,  1776. 
It  provided  certain  measures  designed  to  regulate  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  state,  such  as  the  suppression  of 
mobs  and  turbulence  and  the  maintenance  of  order  and 
peace.  Here  is  something  that  is  not  purely  a  necessity 
produced  by  the  Revolution  ;  it  is  such  an  internal  need 
as  any  state  must  provide  for  to-day.  We  have,  there- 
fore, in  the  work  of  this  convention  the  beginning  of  a 
civil  establishment  for  the  grants,  a  new  order  of  things. 
It  illustrates  the  relation  between  the  administrative 
needs  of  a  state  and  its  expanding  inner  life.  It  is  an 
example  of  what  gives  rise  to  statecraft. 

The  work  of  the  third  convention,  which  was  held  at 
Dorset  in  July  of  the  same  year,  reflects  the  increasing 
requirements  which  are  being  placed  on  the  grants. 
There  is  more  business  to  be  done,  and  business  of 
a   constitutional    nature.     The   question   of    joining    in 


114  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

association  with  New  Hampshire  comes  up,  also  the  ques- 
tion of  the  observance  of  New  York  laws  within  the 
grants  ;  while  the  relation  of  the  grants  as  a  whole  to  the 
national  government  appears  in  the  appointment  of  agents 
who  are  to  be  sent  to  Congress.  Observe  that  these  dif- 
ferent items  of  business  are  due  partly  to  the  war  and 
partly  to  the  civic  needs  of  the  state. 

In  the  fourth  convention,  held  at  Dorset  in  Septem- 
ber, i//6,  the  same  combination  of  local  and  national 
business  is  repeated.  The  exigencies  of  war  are  made 
a  reason  for  crowding  the  demands  of  the  grants  for  a 
separate  government.  The  convention  passed  a  com- 
pact or  covenant  to  stand  by  the  cause  of  American 
liberty,  and  appointed  a  board  of  war  with  regulations 
regarding  the  militia.  But  it  also  voted  not  to  accept 
New  York  laws  and  stated  the  project  for  forming  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants  into  a  separate  district.  State- 
hood is  clearly  projected,  and  the  capacity  of  the  grants 
to  administer  their  internal  police  is  stated  in  a  manner 
which  involves  state  legislation,  for  if  New  York  laws 
are  not  to  be  observed  the  necessity  of  making  laws  for 
themselves  becomes  apparent. 

This  was  the  last  convention  held  at  Dorset  ;  but  the 
fifth  convention,  held  at  Westminster  in  October  of  the 
same  year,  carried  on  the  work  by  providing  for  the  publi- 
cation of  pamphlets  on  the  subject  of  forming  a  separate 
state  and  of  not  uniting  with  New  York.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  the  Revolution,  such  proceedings  would  have  involved 
the  grants  in  an  immediate  crisis  with  New  York.  The 
truth  of  our  proposition  that  the  Revolution  made  possible 
the  statehood  of  Vermont  is  beginning  to  appear. 


THE    GODS    OF    THE    HILLS  115 

If  we  now  take  a  survey  of  the  events  covered  in  the 
five  preceding  paragraphs,  we  find  that  a  great  deal  has 
happened.  Beginning  with  a  group  of  towns  which  had 
no  bond  of  union  except  sentiment  and  a  similar  neces- 
sity, and  with  no  central  or  constitutional  authority  to 
represent  them,  we  find  developed  in  little  more  than 
the  space  of  one  year  a  central  body  competent  to  pro- 
vide for  all  the  needs  of  a  state  as  fully  as  any  American 
commonwealth  then  in  existence,  with  agencies  through 
which  it  could  communicate  with  the  Congress,  regulate 
its  internal  police,  organize  and  develop  the  machinery 
of  further  government,  and  secure  a  satisfactory  referen- 
dum to  justify  its  procedure.  The  four  conventions  of 
the  year  1776  show  that  Vermont  was  making  as  rapid 
strides  toward  independence  as  any  civic  body  in  America. 

At  Westminster  on  the  15th  of  January,  1777,  was 
held  the  sixth  in  this  series  of  conventions  and  the  one 
that  promulgated  the  declaration  of  independence  for 
the  state.  The  action  of  this  convention,  if  read  alone, 
would  seem  to  be  of  the  highest  importance  ;  read  in 
the  light  of  the  work  which  the  four  preceding  conven- 
tions had  accomplished,  it  appears  to  be  only  the  natural 
and  fitting  culmination  of  what  had  transpired  in  the 
previous  year.  It  was  reported  that  three  fourths  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  grants  favored  the  formation  of 
a  separate  state.  The  declaration  of  independence  was 
reported  to  the  convention  at  an  adjourned  session  two 
days  later,  was  then  adopted,  and  sent  with  a  petition 
to  Congress. 

This  step  was  the  culmination  of  the  work  of  the 
New   Hampshire   Grants.     It   is   equally   important    to 


Il6  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

note  that  it  was  also  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  the 
state  of  Vermont.  The  burden  assumed  by  this  decla- 
ration meant  exactly  the  same  for  the  state  of  Vermont 
as  that  involved  in  the  federal  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence meant  for  the  United  States.  We  are  accustomed 
to  think  of  them  as  achievements ;  they  are  only  declara- 
tions. They  are  not  fulfillments,  but  only  beginnings. 
We  call  them  declarations  of  independence  ;  they  are  full 
of  self-imposed  restrictions,  limitations,  and  obligations. 


The  Old  Constitution  House  at  Windsor 


It  is  unfortunate  that  we  have  no  full  report  of  the 
seventh  convention,  which  was  held  at  Windsor  June  4, 
1777.  The  name  of  the  state,  which  in  the  first  decla- 
ration had  been  New  Connecticut,  was  changed  to  Ver- 
mont. A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution 
for  the  new  state  ;  a  fast  was  proclaimed  ;  and  exclusive 
jurisdiction  was  assumed  by  the  state  of  Vermont. 

The  eighth  convention,  like  the  seventh,  left  no  offi- 
cial record,  and  there  is  probably  no  full  account  of  its 


THE    GODS    OF    THE    HILLS 


1  I 


proceedings.  It  was  held  in  troublous  times.  Its  work, 
however,  was  of  prime  importance,  for  it  was  this  eighth 
convention,  held  in  the  old  " constitution  house"  at 
Windsor,  that  established  the  constitution  and  frame  of 
government  for  our  state.  The  convention  met  July  2, 
1777,  and  while  in  session  received  news  of  the  advance 
of  Burgoyne.  Half  the  members  had  come  directly 
from  their  regiments.  The  families  of  the  president 
and  other  members  were  in  impending  danger.     Imme- 


Morf.  Recent  View  of  the  Constitution  House 

diate  adjournment  was  made  impossible  by  the  sudden 
coming  of  a  July  thunder  storm  of  unusual  severity. 
While  the  convention  waited  in  the  darkened  hall  for 
the  storm  to  cease,  it  passed,  article  by  article,  the  con- 
stitution of  our  state. 

Not  only  was  the  independence  of  Vermont  made 
possible  by  the  American  Revolution,  but  it  was  also 
made  imperative  by  the  American  Declaration  of 
Independence.     A  broad  view   of   the   whole   situation 


Il8  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

will  show  the  truth  of  this  proposition.  When  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  declared  themselves  independent  of  Great 
Britain,  the  dispute  between  New  York  and  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants  was  pending  decision  by  the  only 
authority  which  both  disputants  would  recognize  as  their 
arbiter.  The  colonies  were  subjects  of  Great  Britain. 
The  king  of  England  was  their  fountain  of  justice. 
The  Declaration  of  American  Independence  absolved 
the  colonies  from  all  allegiance  to  Great  Britain,  and 
her  fountain  of  justice  was  for  them  no  more. 

What  then  remained  to  be  done  ?  There  was  no 
longer  any  earthly  power  whose  claims  as  a  superior 
both  disputants  would  admit.  The  settlers  on  the 
grants  had  been  removed  from  the  jurisdiction  of  New 
Hampshire  by  the  king's  Order  in  Council  of  1764. 
They  had  never  from  that  day  submitted  to  the  actual 
exercise  of  New  York's  sovereignty.  New  York  was 
not  their  sovereign.  The  king  of  England  was  their 
sovereign.  Now  that  his  arbitrament  was  thrown  aside 
—  for  even  if  Vermont  would  admit  it  New  York  would 
not  —  there  was  nothing  for  the  New  Hampshire  Grants 
to  do  but  maintain  their  own  independence. 

That  meant  no  longer  independence  of  New  York 
alone,  but  of  the  world.  Organization  became  unavoid- 
able for  the  emergencies  of  war  and  domestic  govern- 
ment ;  and  organization  once  begun  the  declaration  of 
purpose  was  pertinent.  It  was  also  timely,  for  the 
same  sentiments  were  evoked  and  the  same  model  fol- 
lowed as  those  which  had  inspired  the  united  colonies. 
These  colonies  could  hardly  fail  to  recognize  the  example 
which  they  had  set.    Nothing  could  have  placed  Vermont 


THE    GODS    OF    THE    HILLS  119 

in  a  more  commanding  position  than  this  simple,  strong 
announcement  of  her  purpose.  The  logic  of  events  was 
on  her  side.  The  appeal  was  powerful  and  in  touch  with 
the  times,  for  not  a  state  except  New  York  could  utter 
a  protest. 

Note.  —  In  the  history  of  our  state  the  work  of  these  conventions 
should  never  be  forgotten.  They  were  extremely  simple  bodies  —  one 
house,  a  supreme  legislative  and  executive  power,  elected  by  the  people, 
responsible  to  the  people.  These  bodies  assumed  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  grants,  furnished  them  with  a  government,  declared  them  to  be  a 
free  and  independent  state,  and  gave  that  state  its  constitution.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  constitution  was  modeled  after  that  of  Penn- 
sylvania, which  in  turn  goes  back  to  William  l'enn's  frame  of  govern- 
ment of  1682. 


CHAPTER   VII 
AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC 

Bennington,  July  25,  1780. 
Sir:  Vermont,  being  a  free  and  independent  state,  have  denied  the 
authority  of  Congress  to  judge  of  their  jurisdiction,  ...  for  it  is  utterly 
incompatible  with  the  rights  and  prerogatives  of  an  independent  state 
to  be  under  the  control  or  arbitrament  of  any  other  power.  .  .  .  The 
cloud  that  has  hovered  over  Vermont,  since  the  ungenerous  claims  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  Bay,  has  been  seen,  and  its  motions 
carefully  observed  by  this  government ;  who  expected  that  Congress 
would  have  averted  the  storm:  but  disappointed  in  this,  and  unjustly 
treated  as  the  people,  over  whom  I  preside,  conceive  themselves  to  be 
in  this  affair,  yet  blessed  by  Heaven,  with  a  constancy  of  mind,  and 
connexions  abroad,  as  an  honest,  valient  and  brave  people,  are  necessi- 
tated to  declare  to  your  Excellency,  to  Congress,  and  to  the  world,  that, 
as  life,  liberty  and  the  rights  of  the  people,  intrusted  to  them  by  God, 
are  inseparable,  so  they  do  not  expect  to  be  justified  in  the  eye  of 
Heaven,  or  that  posterity  would  call  them  blessed,  if  they  should, 
tamely,  surrender  any  part.  —  Governor  Chittenden  to  the  President  of 
Congress. 

Internal  Conditions 

The  full  story  of  fourteen  years'  independent  govern- 
ment is  needed  in  order  really  to  understand  what 
Vermont  was  at  the  time  of  her  admission  into  the 
Union.  On  the  one  hand,  on  the  industrial  side  there 
was  the  multiplication  of  new  homes  which  in  their 
beginnings  were  very  much  like  the  homes  of  earlier 
days  and  of  which  we  shall  learn  more  presently.  On 
the  other  hand  there  was  a  continued  development  of 
statecraft,  which   in  this  period  revealed  a  capacity  for 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC 


121 


diplomacy  as  striking  in  its  way  as  the  more  constructive 
work  which  we  have  just  been  considering. 

The  process  of  home-making  went  on,  taking  a  north- 
ward direction,  until  at  length  it  penetrated  nearly  all 
sections  of  the  state.  Meantime  the  older  settlements 
became  more  thrifty  in  appearance,  established  new 
industries,  and  prospered.  Men  grown  well-to-do  in 
the  older  communities  repeated  their  successes  in  the 
newer,  entering 
them  now  as  small 
capitalists,  building 
the  mills  and  assist- 
ing in  the  work  of 
more  rapid  settle- 
ment than  that  of 
earlier  days.  The 
arms  of  commerce 
began  to  reach  up 
into  the  little  repub- 
lic  of  the  hills. 
While  this  went  on, 
there    is  that  other 

story,  the  story  of  a  long  and  persistent  attempt  to  gain 
for  the  state  admission  to  the  Union.  This  attempt  was 
long  frustrated  by  New  York,  who  still  insisted  on  her 
claim  to  the  grants. 

It  is  a  point  worth  remembering  that,  in  spite  of  the 
dangers  and  uncertainties  of  settling  in  the  state  during 
the  Revolution,  Vermont  was  by  comparison  not  the 
worst  place  in  which  to  live.  There  were  greater  dan- 
gers and  uncertainties  elsewhere.     She  was  free  from 


Flag 


122  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

many  of  the  burdens  which  the  colonies  had  taken  upon 
themselves  in  this  great  war.  Her  support  to  the  war 
was  purely  voluntary  ;  her  taxes  were  light  ;  she  never 
had  hung  about  her  neck  the  financial  millstone  of 
irredeemable  paper  money  ;  her  lands  were  cheap  and 
inducements  were  strong  to  incoming  settlers. 

It  was  a  point  of  self-interest  for  Vermont  to  promote 
as  rapid  a  settlement  as  possible  in  this  period.  The 
more  settlers  she  obtained,  the  stronger  she  would  be 
to  maintain  a  position  that  while  unique  among  the 
commonwealths  of  America  was  at  the  same  time  some- 
what precarious.  As  the  armies  of  Washington  melted 
away  by  desertion,  not  a  few  of  the  self-retired  veterans 
found  their  search  for  quiet  homes  leading  them  into 
the  woods  of  Vermont.  The  families  established  here 
throve  prodigiously,  and  there  were  few  drones.  Men, 
muscle,  and  courage  were  all  that  were  needed  to  trans- 
form the  wooded  state  into  a  thrifty  commonwealth  of 
husbandmen  and  freeholders.  The  transformation  went 
on  during  the  years  of  the  Revolution  and  those  which 
followed.  In  this  way,  too,  Vermont  was  getting  more 
out  of  the  war  than  she  put  into  it. 

In  1 77 1  a  rough  census  showed  that  about  seven 
thousand  people  inhabited  the  state.  Forty-six  hundred 
were  east  of  the  mountains  and  twenty-five  hundred 
west.  Ten  years  later  the  population  was  thirty  thou- 
sand. In  1 79 1  it  was,  in  round  numbers,  eighty-five 
thousand.  It  is  probable  that  at  least  ten  thousand 
people  came  into  the  state  during  the  war. 

After  her  declaration  of  independence  the  state 
assumed    the    proprietorship    of    lands.      In    1779    the 


Half  Way  Hill 
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to~No,4 


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fe 


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Vermont  at  the  Close  ok  the  Revolution 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  123 

legislature  formulated  plans  for  the  making  of  grants. 
They  were  not  unlike  the  plan  of  Benning  Wentworth. 
Townships  were  to  be  six  miles  square,  with  seventy  rights 
or  lots  in  each.  Five  of  these  were  for  public  uses, —  one 
for  the  support  of  a  college,  one  for  a  county  grammar 
school,  one  for  an  English  school,  one  for  the  support  of 
preaching,  and  one  for  the  first  settled  minister.  To  set- 
tlers the  prices  of  lots  were  made  low,  —  what  would  be 
equivalent  to  from  seven  to  ten  cents  an  acre  for  the 
three  hundred  and  thirty  acres  or  thereabouts  in  a  lot. 

These  inducements,  the  vigor  of  state  administration, 
the  assurance  of  protection  for  private  rights,  the  light 
burdens  of  taxation,  the  economy  in  state  management, 
—  the  revenues  from  the  sale  of  lands  were  nearly 
enough  to  pay  expenses,  —  all  tended  to  attract  settlers 
and  build  up  the  state. 

And  yet  conditions  were  far  from  peaceful  and  orderly. 
There  were  many  conflicting  interests,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants were  by  no  means  all  of  one  mind.  We  must 
remember  that  in  all  the  states  during  and  after  the 
Revolution  conditions  were  very  disorderly.  Social  and 
political  and  economic  disturbances,  due  in  large  part 
to  the  war  itself,  wrought  havoc  with  the  normal  order 
of  development  and  made  turbulence  and  lawlessness 
rampant.  In  Vermont  there  were  a  few  causes  of  dis- 
turbance which  did  not  exist  elsewhere.  Those  settlers 
who  still  held  land  under  New  York  grants  remained 
in  favor  of  New  York  jurisdiction,  and  they  conse- 
quently opposed  the  independence  of  Vermont. 

Such  men,  especially  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  state,  in  the  vicinity  of  Guilford   and  Brattleboro, 


124  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

took  occasion  to  resist  the  authority  of  Vermont.  The 
governor  of  New  York  encouraged  them,  and  they 
organized  in  opposition  to  the  state  and  proposed  to 
resist  by  force  the  collection  of  taxes  and  drafting 
of  men  for  military  service.  In  Guilford  and  some 
other  towns  the  differences  were  so  intense  that  each 
party  had  a  town  organization  of  its  own,  with  its 
own  set  of  officers.  There  were  thus  two  civil  organ- 
izations in  such  towns,  one  rendering  allegiance  to 
New  York,  the  other  to  Vermont.  Excitement  rose 
to  such  a  pitch  that  there  were  skirmishes  between 
the  two  factions,  and  social  order  came  to  an  end. 
Relatives  and  neighbors  were  arrayed  against  each 
other,  and  even  physicians  could  not  visit  the  sick 
without  passes  and  permits  from  various  committees. 
Finally  Ethan  Allen  was  directed  to  call  out  the 
militia  to  enforce  laws  and  suppress  disturbances  in 
Windham  County,  which  he  set  about  to  do  with  his 
characteristic  vigor. 

Notwithstanding  his  energetic  measures,  disturb- 
ances became  so  serious  that  in  the  winter  of  1783- 
1784  radical  measures  had  to  be  taken  against  the 
New  York  element.  Before  the  close  of  that  year  the 
"  Yorkers "  found  most  of  their  property  confiscated 
and  themselves  so  harshly  handled  by  civil  and  military 
authorities  that  they  went  in  large  numbers  to  New 
York.  The  minority  that  remained  took  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  this  state.  The  years  following  saw  even  more 
serious  disturbances  across  the  line  in  the  neighboring 
state  of  Massachusetts,  disturbances  which  culminated 
in  Shays's  rebellion.     Neither  the  disturbances  nor  the 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  125 

conditions  in  Vermont  were  exceptionally  bad.  The 
times  were  such  as  to  foster  discontent  and  breed 
riotous  and  disorderly  conduct,  especially  among  the 
debtor  and  more   thriftless   classes. 

In  respect  to  public  finances  the  conditions  in  Ver- 
mont were  better  than  in  almost  any  other  state.  As 
has  been  said  before,  the  state  paid  her  own  troops 
during  the  war  and  had  no  private  debt,  while  she 
was  free  from  the  great  burden  of  public  debt  which 
so  handicapped  the  other  states,  because  she  had  never 
been  a  member  of  the  confederation.  But  many  of  her 
inhabitants  were  extremely  poor,  not  a  few  involved  in 
personal  debt,  and  hard  cash  was  a  rare  thing  to  see. 
Consequently  collection  of  debts  bore  with  severity  on 
the  people,  and  lawyers  and  sheriffs  were  in  Vermont 
as  elsewhere  an  unpopular  class. 

The  prevalent  hostility  toward  them  is  revealed  in  a 
burst  of  polemic  song  which  appeared  in  the  Vermont 
Gazette  Feb.  28,  1784. 

Whereas  the  Assembly  ol  the   State 
Have  dar'd  audaciously  of  late, 
With  purpose  vile,  the  constitution 
To  break,  or  make  a  wicked  use  on, 
By  making  laws  and  raising  taxes, 
And  viler  still  (so  truth  of  fact  is) 
By  keeping  up  that  smooth  tongu'd  clan, 
For  ages  curs'd  by  God  and  man, 
Attornies,  whose  eternal  gabble 
Confounds  the  unexperienced  rabble. 

Then  lawyers  from  the  courts  expell, 
Cancel  our  debts  and  all  is  well — ■ 


126  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

But  should  they  finally  neglect 

To  take  the  measures  we  direct, 

Still  fond  of  their  own  power  and  wisdom, 

We  '11  find  effectual  means  to  twist  'em. 

Some  disturbances  occurred  in  what  are  now  Windsor 
and  Rutland  counties.  But  the  Assembly  did  all  that 
could  be  honorably  asked,  even  by  poor  debtors.  It 
provided  for  payment  "  in  kind  "  when  creditors  were 
insistent  upon  immediate  payment  of  debts.  The  follow- 
ing act  is  self-explanatory. 

Whereas,  through  a  scarcity  of  a  circulating  medium,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  satisfy  all  debts  in  specie.  Therefore,  Be  it  enacted,  &c 
that  neat  cattle,  beef,  pork,  sheep,  wheat,  rye,  and  indian  corn,  shall 
be  a  lawful  tender,  if  turned  out  by  the  debtor,  on  any  execution. 

In  such  cases  the  creditor  must  receive  at  its  value  the 
tender  of  goods  appraised  by  men  under  oath.  Similar 
remedial  legislation  was  applied  for  some  years  when  the 
stress  of  collections  was  really  oppressive.  This  relieved 
the  situation  temporarily ;  in  time  industry  and  business 
brought  general  prosperity  and  permanent  relief. 

Green  Mountain  Diplomacy 

In  the  condition  of  affairs  which  has  been  very  briefly 
and  imperfectly  described  in  the  foregoing  section  it 
became  a  task  requiring  no  small  skill  on  the  part  of 
political  leaders  to  steer  such  a  course  in  maintaining  the 
independence  of  Vermont  as  not  to  wreck  their  ship  of 
state  on  the  shoals  of  national  politics  or  the  reefs  of 
domestic  woes.  While  Vermont  was  pleading  for  admis- 
sion   to    the    Union,    the   action   of   Congress   and   the 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  127 

neighboring  states  was  such  as  to  promote  her  internal 
troubles  and  bring  her  independence  into  jeopardy. 

After  the  king's  order  of  1764  limiting  New  Hamp- 
shire's jurisdiction  to  the  western  bank  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River  that  state  had  made  no  attempt  to  interfere 
with  Vermont's  affairs  until  such  interference  was  in- 
duced by  Vermont  herself  through  a  very  unfortunate 
complication.  The  interest  of  certain  towns  lying  in  New 
Hampshire  just  east  of  the  Connecticut  River  caused 
them  to  desire  union  with  Vermont  rather  than  continue 
longer  under  the  government  of  New  Hampshire.  The 
request  came  at  a  time  when  Vermont  politics  were  in 
such  a  state  that  the  Assembly  felt  compelled  to  grant 
it.  Consequently  these  New  Hampshire  towns  were 
adopted  like  foster  children  by  the  state  of  Vermont. 

No  sooner  was  this  done  than  New  Hampshire  natu- 
rally enough  began  strenuous  protests  and  brought  about 
still  further  complications  by  reviving  her  old  claim  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  grants.  So  the  matter,  when  pre- 
sented to  the  Continental  Congress,  took  a  form  which 
was  decidedly  unfavorable  to  Vermont.  New  Hampshire 
and  New  York  were  again  contending  for  the  same  terri- 
tory, and  it  began  to  look  as  though  Congress  would 
like  to  dispose  of  the  case  in  the  easiest  way,  by  dividing 
the  state  between  the  two  claimants  along  the  line  of 
the  Green  Mountain  range. 

Vermont  statesmen  then  saw  the  mistake  which  had 
been  made  in  attempting  to  incorporate  part  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  sought  to  retrace  their  steps.  Very 
evidently  policy  dictated  a  separation  from  the  New 
Hampshire  towns.      But  states  and  nations  as  well  as 


128  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

individuals  often  find  that  it  is  not  so  easy  to  get  out  of 
a  bad  situation  as  it  is  to  get  into  one.  So  it  proved 
in  this  case  ;  for  when  these  towns  were  separated 
from  Vermont  along  with  them  went  neighboring  towns 
on  the  Vermont  side  of  the  river.  Vermont  was  dis- 
membered. As  if  this  were  not  trouble  enough,  Mas- 
sachusetts presently  entered  the  contest  by  asserting 
claims  to  territory  north  of  the  boundary  line,  which,  it 
must  be  confessed,  was  somewhat  uncertain.  This,  then, 
was  the  situation  in  1779.  Four  states  were  claimants 
of  the  same  territory.  Vermont,  troubled  within  and 
without,  but  determined  to  maintain  her  integrity,  was 
pleading  for  admission  to  the  Union,  while  on  all  sides 
her  neighbors  were  making  the  situation  worse,  and 
Congress  was  doing  nothing  to  make  it  better. 

The  claim  of  New  Hampshire  stimulated  New  York 
to  stir  up  further  dissension  in  Vermont  and  advise  her 
partisans  to  resist  the  authority  of  the  state.  They 
accordingly  refused  to  recognize  Vermont's  authority  to 
draft  troops  or  raise  taxes,  held  a  convention  at  Brattle- 
boro,  and  formed  a  military  association  in  Cumberland 
County.  Congress,  meantime,  only  tried  to  pacify  the 
three  litigious  members  of  her  own  body,  without  paying 
much  attention  to  the  needs  of  Vermont. 

Such  proceedings  taught  the  people  that  they  must 
work  out  their  own  salvation  if  they  were  going  to 
be  saved.  They  accordingly  stood  ready  to  seize  any 
opportunity  to  strengthen  their  position.  A  chance 
soon  came.  The  New  Hampshire  towns  which  had 
once  been  represented  in  the  Assembly  of  Vermont 
again  desired  to  renew  that  relation.     A  convention  of 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC 


29 


thirty-five  towns  which  was  held  at  Charlestown,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1781,  revealed  that  a  majority  of  them 
were  in  favor  of  a  union  with  Vermont. 

About  the  same  time  a  similar  application  came  from  a 
smaller  number  of  towns  across  the  New  York  border  in 


Vermont  Coat  of  Arms 


the  eastern  part  of  that  state.  Here  was  an  opportunity 
for  Vermont  to  increase  her  strength  and  resources 
in  two  directions.  Both  applications  were  favorably 
considered,  and  Vermont  assumed  jurisdictional  rights 


130  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

over  the  petitioning  towns.  Their  representatives  were 
admitted  to  seats  in  her  Assembly,  and  the  annexa- 
tions became  known  as  the  East  and  West  unions. 
This  step  was  bold  and  unequivocal,  but  Vermont  had 
become  accustomed  to  burning  her  bridges  behind  her. 
The  measure  doubled  the  extent  of  her  jurisdiction, 
added  to  her  numbers  and  resources,  quieted  disaffection 
at  home,  and  invited  further  immigration  from  abroad. 

The  next  step  was  to  secure  herself  from  the  dangers 
of  British  invasion  ;  for  the  war  was  not  over,  and  another 
British  campaign  was  contemplated  in  the  Champlain 
Valley.  The  British  came  up  the  lake,  and  Vermont 
was  defenseless.  Congress  was  devoting  its  attention 
and  all  the  supplies  it  could  get  out  of  an  unwilling  con- 
stituency to  campaigns  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 
But  the  British  were  still  possessed  of  the  notion  that 
had  once  deceived  Burgoyne,  —  that  the  people  of  this 
state  would  turn  to  the  crown.  In  consequence  of 
this  they  were  misled  by  their  hopes  in  a  manner  that 
proved  as  effective  a  defense  for  Vermont  as  a  military 
equipment  would  have  been. 

The  peculiar  situation  of  Vermont  gave  the  British 
some  grounds  for  supposing  that  her  allegiance  might 
be  transferred  to  them.  They  were  familiar  with  the 
rebuffs  which  the  state  had  met  in  trying  to  associate 
herself  with  the  other  states,  and  they  conjectured  that 
they  might  turn  her  failure  to  their  advantage.  The 
first  intimation  that  came  of  this  desire  was  in  the 
summer  of  1780,  when  a  stranger,  apparently  a  Vef^ 
mont  farmer,  met  Ethan  Allen  in  the  streets  of  Arling- 
ton and  handed  him  a  letter.     The  stranger  was  not  a 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  131 

Vermont   farmer   but  a   British  soldier,   and    the   letter 
was  from  an  officer  of  the  British  army  in  Canada. 

The  letter  invited  Allen  to  give  information  about 
the  sentiments  of  the  people  on  the  subject  of  forming 
a  British  alliance.  Allen  took  the  letter  to  Governor 
Chittenden  and  it  was  discussed  among  a  few  confiden- 
tial friends.  No  answer  was  returned  to  the  British 
officer,  and  he,  thinking  that  his  first  letter  might  have 
miscarried,  sent  another  of  similar  purport  in  the  follow- 
ing February.  To  this  also  Allen  made  no  reply,  but 
he  sent  both  letters  to  Congress,  with  a  characteristic 
one  of  his  own.      He  wrote  : 

I  am  fully  grounded  in  opinion  that  Vermont  has  an  indubita- 
ble right  to  agree  on  Terms  of  Cessation  of  Hostilities  with  Great 
Britain,  providing  the  United  States  persist  in  rejecting  her  Appli- 
cation for  a  Union  with  them  :  for  Vermont,  of  all  people,  would 
be  the  most  miserable,  were  she  obliged  to  defend  the  Independ- 
ence of  the  United  claiming  States,  and  they  at  the  same  time  at 
full  liberty  to  overturn  and  ruin  the  Independence  of  Vermont.  I 
am  persuaded  when  Congress  considers  the  circumstances  of  this 
State,  they  will  be  more  surprised  that  I  have  transmitted  them  the 
enclosed  letters  than  that  I  have  kept  them  in  custody  so  long,  for  I 
am  as  resolutely  determined  to  defend  the  Independence  of  Vermont 
as  Congress  are  that  of  the  United  States,  and  rather  than  fail  will 
retire  with  the  hardy  Green  Mountain  Boys  into  the  desolate  Cav- 
erns of  the  Mountains  and  wage  war  with  Human  nature  at  large. 

Congress  remained  inactive. 

When  the  British  came  up  the  lake  in  the  fall  of 
1780  Governor  Chittenden  opened  communications  with 
them,  and  with  the  help  of  the  Aliens  and  a  few  others, 
without  committing  the  state  to  any  pledges,  so  kept 
the    British    fed   with   hopes   of   an   alliance   that    they 


I32  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

refrained  from  beginning  hostilities.  Presently  news  came 
of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  It  was  then  too  late  to 
fight.  The  British  embarked,  returned  to  Canada,  and 
the  border  was  again  free  from  the  dangers  of  invasion. 
Thus  far  Congress  had  manifested  little  inclination  to 
consider  the  case  of  Vermont  at  all  ;  but  presently,  in 
addition  to  the  letters  which  Ethan  Allen  had  trans- 
mitted, came  the  following  one,  sent  by  Franklin  across 

the  water. 

Whitehall  (London)  Feb.  7,  1781. 
The  return  of  the  people  of  Vermont  to  their  allegiance  is  an 
event  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  king's  affairs  ;  and  at  this 
time  if  the  French  and  Washington  really  meditate  an  irruption 
into  Canada,  may  be  considered  as  opposing  an  insurmountable 
bar  to  the  attempt.  General  Haldimand  who  has  the  same  instruc- 
tions with  you  to  draw  over  these  people  and  give  them  support, 
will,  I  doubt  not,  push  up  a  body  of  troops,  to  act  in  conjunction 
with  them,  to  secure  all  the  avenues  through  their  country  into 
Canada  :  and  when  the  season  admits  take  possession  of  the  upper 
parts  of  the  Hudson  and  Connecticut  rivers,  and  cut  off  communi- 
cation between  Albany  and  the  Mohawk  country. 

The  letter,  it  seems,  was  written  by  Lord  George 
Germaine  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  but  had  been  inter- 
cepted by  the  French  and  taken  to  Paris.  There  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  was  informed  of  it,  secured  it,  and  sent 
it  to  Congress.  The  evidence  of  this  letter  unmistak- 
ably corroborated  the  two  which  Allen  had  sent  to 
Congress.  They  showed  how  important  a  place  Ver- 
mont occupied  in  the  British  mind,  and  they  elevated 
the  state  rather  suddenly  to  a  place  of  corresponding 
importance  in  the  considerations  of  Congress.  Ira 
Allen,  who  gives  the  fullest  account  of  these  Haldimand 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  133 

negotiations  of  any  one  who  was  in  the  secret,  says 
that  this  Germaine  letter  "  had  greater  influence  on 
the  wisdom  and  virtue  of  Congress  than  all  the  exer- 
tions of  Vermont  in  taking  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point, 
and  the  two  divisions  from  General  Burgoyne's  army, 
or  their  petition  to  be  admitted  as  a  state  in  the  general 
confederation,  and  offers  to  pay  their  proportion  of  the 
expenses  of  the  war." 

Certain  it  is  that  the  tone  of  Congress  changed  after 
the  receipt  of  the  Germaine  letter.  The  problem  of 
what  could  be  done  in  case  Vermont  responded  favor- 
ably to  the  offers  of  the  British  began  to  be  seriously 
considered.  Washington  wrote  from  Newburg  Feb.  11, 
1783,  as  follows  : 

It  is  not  a  trifling  force  that  will  subdue  them,  even  supposing 
they  derived  no  aid  from  the  enemy  in  Canada.  .  .  .  The  country 
is  very  mountainous,  full  of  defiles  and  exceedingly  strong.  The 
inhabitants  for  the  most  part  are  a  hardy  race,  composed  of  that 
kind  of  people  who  are  best  calculated  for  soldiers ;  in  truth  who 
are  soldiers,  for  many,  many  hundreds  of  them  are  deserters  from 
this  army  ;  who  having  acquired  property  there  would  be  desperate 
in  defense  of  it,  well  knowing  that  they  were  fighting  with  halters 
about  their  necks.1 

Congress  at  length  conceded  for  the  first  time  the 
possibility  of  admitting  Vermont,  although  it  did  so 
indirectly  by  stating  that  if  such  a  step  were  taken  it 
would  be  necessary  for  the  state  to  relinquish  the  East 
and  West  unions.  General  Washington  sent  a  verbal 
message  to  Governor  Chittenden  asking  what  the  real 

1  It  should  be  noted  in  passing  that  although  Vermont  was  a  very 
desirable  refuge  for  deserters  who  did  not  wish  to  go  to  Canada,  Ver- 
mont authorities  assisted  in  making  arrests  when  their  aid  was  invoked. 


34 


HISTORY    OF    VKKMONT 


feeling  of  the   people  was,  and   later  advised  the  gover- 
nor that  the  state  would  better  be  reduced  to  its  former 

limits  for  the  sake 
of  ending  the 
trouble.  Encour- 
aged to  think  that 
if  this  were  done 
Vermont  would 
be  promptly 
admitted,  the 
Assembly  com- 
plied with  the 
suggestion  ;  on 
Feb.  22,  1782, 
Vermont  was  for 
the  last  time 
reduced  to  its 
present  territorial 
form. 

The  action  of 
Vermont  was  not 
followed  by  the 
anticipated  admis- 
sion to  the  Union. 
Matters  still 
dragged  on.  The 
war  endepl,  but 
the  effects  of  the 


•  Con§ftfs  of  the  United  States-: 

AT     TBI     THIRD.   SESSION, 

Begun  and  held  at  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  on. 

MoViday  thcllijrth'of  becemher-',  otic  tbou- 

fand  ftven  hundred  and.niiutv. 


An  ACT  fir   the  Adbimiok  .if  Ike  State  ty Vermont  ntU  . 

•♦  •    '  ]■      fhi/Vmov.'-     v 

.L  H  E.  Stanyo/  Vermopf  Lavjn g  petitioned  the  Conpth  to  be  ad- 

'.  .'raiUfcU  member  of  the  United  States,  Be  it  nailed  by  the  Senate 

".  axfllqvsl  tf  RtrnxstyrriTM.';  oftbe  United  3latei  of Anurua  in 

■    Gtigrft  B0aMeJ,  aM  it  is  hereby  mailed  and  declared,  That  on  the 

fourth. -day  of  March,  *ne  tjioofiuid  feven  hundred  and  ninety-one, 

Bit  fai«  Stare,  "by  rtitf  'feaime  andnile  of  "  tffti'Stae  or  Vermont," 

Ihail  h<  received  and  admitted  intocthfc  Union,  as  a  new  and  eniir-j 

■of  the  United  State*  of  America;  .'      . 


•FREDERICK  AUGUSTUS  MUHLENBERG, 

Sj-.'aitr  tf  (he-  Hsufe  of  RefreJ oitativ;,. 

JOHN  ADAMS,  Vce-Prejdent  if  the  United  State, 
and  Prefidmt  ef  tlie  Senate. 

AwaovED,  February  the  eighteenth,  1791.    ' 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Prefident  efjbe  Uruled  Statu. 


*  Deposited  among  the  Ron 


iatheOrnrfoftheSrcj 


';■• 


Facsimile  of  Act  of  Admission 


war  began  to  appear.  For  Vermont  the  situation  became 
less  critical  ;  for  the  United  States  it  did  not.  The  condi- 
tion of  Congress  and  the  confederation  was  disreputable. 


AN    INDEPENDENT   REPUBLIC  135 

The  United  States  had  no  money,  no  revenue,  no  credit. 
The  armies  were  unpaid,  and  the  government  was 
sinking  into  disgrace.  Vermont  grew  less  anxious  for 
admission.  Then  came  that  wonderful  reorganization 
and  recovery  under  the  constitution  of  1789,  with  the 
splendid  work  of  Hamilton  and  the  administrations  of 
Washington.  Within  two  years  of  its  reincarnation 
Congress  unanimously  voted  that  on  the  fourth  day  of 
the  following  March  "  the  said  State,  by  the  name  and 
style  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  shall  be  received  into  this 
Union  as  a  new  and  entire  member  of  the  United  States." 

Conflicting  interests  were  settled  with  comparative 
ease.  This  state  paid  to  New  York  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars in  full  settlement  of  all  claims,  and  the  money  was 
used  to  reimburse  those  persons  who  had  been  dispos- 
sessed of  lands  held  under  New  York  grants.1  Many  of 
the  prominent  men  of  the  earlier  struggle  had  died,  and 
the  new  generation  felt  less  bitterness  over  the  ancient 
quarrel.  Many  of  the  Bennington  disputants  had  also 
passed  away.  Three  of  the  Allen  family  were  dead, 
Ethan  among  the  number,  he  having  died  at  Burlington 
in  1789,  of  apoplexy. 

The  best  men  in  New  York  were  also  becoming  con- 
vinced that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  prolonging  the 
struggle.  In  fact  the  contest  was  hindering  the  wel- 
fare of  the  state.  Alexander  Hamilton  urged  the  settle- 
ment of  it,  and  showed  that  New  York  with  its  burden 
of  Revolutionary  debt  could  not  afford  to  carry  on  an 

1  The  division  of  this  money  by  New  York  among  the  claimants 
may  be  found  in  B.  H.  Hall's  History  of  Eastern  Vermont,  Appendix  L; 
also  in  Documentary  History  of  Neto  York,  IV,  1024.  The  amounts 
range  from  $5.49  to  $7218.94. 


136  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

offensive  war  with  Vermont  ;  a  war  would  require  an 
army  and  a  treasury.  This  was  the  alternative  :  to  settle 
or  to  fight.  Vermont  showed  her  appreciation  of  an 
amicable  settlement  by  making  grants  of  land  to  some 
of  the  prominent  men  of  the  sister  state.  John  Jay  was 
endowed  with  land  in  the  town  which  still  bears  his 
name.  With  the  admission  of  the  state  all  the  animosity 
of  years  was  laid  aside,  and  the  neighboring  common- 
wealths assumed  their  new  relations  with  harmony  and 
good  will. 

The  Ruling  Motive 

It  requires  a  somewhat  broader  view  than  that  given  in 
the  history  of  this  contest  as  it  has  been  outlined  above 
really  to  explain  the  attitudes  which  the  various  parties 
to  the  controversy  took  at  different  times.  It  will  be 
worth  while  to  get  this  broader  view,  because  it  is  what 
makes  events  comprehensible.  Frequently  movements 
in  history  —  political  movements,  for  example  —  require 
an  explanation  which  does  not  appear  on  the  surface  or 
in  the  mere  narration  of  facts. 

If  we  look  into  the  events  of  the  Revolution  during 
these  years,  we  shall  see  that  the  Continental  Congress 
had  more  trouble  of  its  own  than  it  knew  what  to  do 
with,  without  taking  up  the  battle  for  Vermont.  With- 
out going  into  these  events  we  can  readily^see  that  Con- 
gress could  not  afford  to  risk  a  quarrel  between  three  of 
her  important  states,  and  perhaps  others,  for  the  mere 
sake  of  preserving  the  integrity  of  an  outsider.  The 
integrity  of  the  outsider  was  not  absolutely  essential  to 
the  success  of  the  American  cause,  but  the  integrity  of 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  137 

the  Union  was.  The  successful  culmination  of  the  war 
was  far  more  important  to  Congress  than  the  acquisition 
of  another  member  to  a  body  of  wrangling  states.  This 
interprets  the  dilatory  and  vacillating  course  of  Congress 
on  the  question  of  admitting  Vermont  to  the  Union. 

Upon  Vermont,  therefore,  was  thrown  the  necessity  of 
maintaining  her  own  independence  against  a  manifest 
disposition  of  Congress  to  sacrifice  her,  as  well  as  against 
the  more  aggressive  acts  of  her  immediate  neighbors. 
This  explains  her  granting  of  lands,  her  annexations  of 
the  East  and  West  unions,  and  the  somewhat  shady 
diplomacy  of  the  Haldimand  negotiations.  Vermont 
could  not  fail  to  see  that,  after  all  her  efforts  to  aid  the 
common  cause,  she  was  likely  to  get  less  from  its  success 
than  she  would  from  its  failure;  for  Great  Britain,  the 
very  power  she  was  helping  to  fight,  offered  her  what 
Congress  did  not.  At  any  rate,  appearances  indicated 
that  she  would  be  forbidden  as  a  state  to  participate  in 
the  results  of  that  freedom  which  she  was  helping  the 
others  to  secure.  If  such  was  the  case,  then  every 
further  step  taken  in  support  of  the  Revolution  was 
suicidal  for  her.  Could  it  be  expected  that  Vermont 
would  aid  in  defeating  a  foreign  foe  if  by  so  doing  she 
would  put  her  neck  under  the  yoke  of  a  more  hateful 
tyranny  at  home  ?  As  a  matter  of  policy,  dictated  by 
the  instincts  of  self-preservation,  the  state  could  lend  a 
listening  ear  to  the  proposals  of  British  agents  to  detach 
Vermont  from  the  American  cause  and  make  her  a  free 
British  province. 

The  disclosure  of  the  British  design,  especially  the 
Germaine  letter,  opened  the  mind  of  Congress  to  the 


138  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

possible  magnitude  and  significance  of  Vermont's  foreign 
relations,  and  brought  once  more  into  the  sphere  of 
national  politics  the  question  of  admitting  her  to  the 
Union.  Congress  was  at  length  ready  to  admit  that  Ver- 
mont had  gained  a  place  of  sufficient  importance  as  a 
political  entity  to  give  her  in  all  justice  the  right  to  be 
recognized.  At  the  same  time  circumstances  already 
noted  made  it  impossible  for  Congress  to  grant  imme- 
diate admission.  This  explains  the  attitude  of  Congress 
after  178  1,  —  why  she  was  ready  to  concede  Vermont's 
independent  statehood  but  did  not  admit  her  for  ten 
years  more. 

While  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  removal  of  British 
troops  ended  alike  the  danger  of  invasion  and  the  nego- 
tiations with  the  British,  these  events  did  not  leave  the 
United  States  in  a  condition  which  rendered  admission 
altogether  desirable  for  the  state.  Vermont  had  then 
secured  freedom  from  invasion,  protection  of  life  and 
property,  the  establishment  of  order,  financial  integrity, 
a  vigorous  and  economical  administration,  an  increasing 
population.  Under  the  circumstances  it  was  no  gain  to 
be  admitted  to  membership  in  a  government  whose 
burdens  were  greater  and  whose  guaranties  of  such 
essential  advantages  were  less  than  her  own.  This 
explains  why  Vermont  became  less7  anxious  to  push 
her  claims  for  admission. 

When,  however,  the  federal  situation  reached  a  pitch 
of  disintegration  which  necessitated  reorganization,  and 
the  constitution  of  1789  was  "crammed  down  the  gullet 
of  America,"  or,  in  the  more  refined  language  of  John 
Quincy  Adams,  "  extorted  from  the  grinding  necessity  of 


AN    INDEPENDENT    REPUBLIC  139 

a  reluctant  nation,"  the  general  situation  began  straight- 
way to  improve.  The  financial  integrity  of  the  United 
States  was  no  longer  a  matter  for  speculation.  National 
politics  now  began  to  turn  on  internal  interests  instead 
of  foreign  domination,  and  it  became  evident  that  in  the 
new  national  politics  the  interests  of  Vermont  were  iden- 
tical with  those  of  New  England  and  the  northern  states, 
New  York  included.  These  common  interests  would 
be  strengthened  by  the  admission  of  the  state.  This 
explains  why  the  motives  for  admission  grew  stronger 
while  the  obstacles  grew  less. 

So  we  find  in  this  period  of  her  independent  statehood 
a  curious  and  entertaining  interplay  of  local  and  federal 
politics,  which  on  the  whole  was  not  detrimental  to 
Vermont's  interests,  and  which  also  reveals  the  relation 
between  separate  states  and  the  central  government  in 
what  is  essentially  its  true  and  permanent  form. 

One  cannot  close  the  study  of  this  period  of  Ver- 
mont's history  without  an  increased  admiration  of  the 
remarkable  powers  of  her  first  governor.  One  of  our 
historians,  himself  a  governor,  has  not  overstated  his 
capacity  in  the  following  estimate:  "The  formation  of 
the  territory  of  Vermont  into  a  separate  state,  the  suc- 
cessful progress  of  its  government,  and  its  final  estab- 
lishment against  the  powerful  opposition  of  other  gov- 
ernments were  owing  in  a  great  degree  to  the  almost 
unerring  foresight,  unhesitating  firmness  and  sound 
judgment  of  Thomas  Chittenden." 


CHAPTER   VIII 

FROM    THE    REVOLUTION    TO   THE   WAR   OF    1812 

Development   of  the  Settled  Portions  of 
the   State 

A.    Industrial  Conditions 

We  must  take  a  glance  at  the  life  of  the  people 
between  the  close  of  the  Revolution  and  the  War  of 
1812,  so  as  to  fix  in  our  minds  some  of  the  ways  in 
which  that  life  differed  from  our  own.  While  in  a  sense 
it  may  be  true  that  Vermont  remained  industrially  in 
about  the  same  condition  as  during  the  war  down  to 
the  political  disturbances  which  heralded  the  next  war, 
such  a  statement  contains  only  half  the  truth.  There 
was  no  wide  change  in  the  forms  of  industry,  but  there 
were  a  few  changes  of  exceedingly  great  importance,  and 
furthermore  there  was  a  great  industrial  development. 
Different  kinds  of  business  did  not  arise  so  rapidly 
then  as  now,  but  the  few  kinds  which  were  carried  on 
multiplied  in  different  parts  of  the  state. 

The  lack  of  good  means  of  transportation  perpetuated 
colonial  conditions  to  the  period  which  we  are  now  con- 
sidering. The  growth  of  the  transporting  business  is  the 
key  to  the  wonderful  differences  which  we  everywhere 
see  between  those  days  and  our  own.  For  example,  we 
obtain  supplies  of  grain,  such  as  wheat  and  corn,  and 

140 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  141 

supplies  of  meat,  such  as  beef  and  pork,  in  immense 
train  loads  daily  coming  from  the  West.  Modern  trans- 
portation has  made  this  possible.  In  those  earlier  days 
it  was  more  of  a  problem  to  get  a  cow  from  an  interior 
Vermont  town  to  Boston  or  New  York  or  Montreal  than 
it  is  to-day  to  get  a  carload  of  beef  from  the  western 
prairie  to  Europe.  Now  every  step  in  such  a  process 
is  carefully  provided  for,  and  the  business  of  providing 
for  it  has  given  rise  to  whole  systems  of  great  industries 
which  influence  the  welfare  of  millions  of  people,  provide 
millions  of  others  with  daily  food,  and  enter  the  halls  of 
our  national  government  as  questions  of  public  policy. 

In  colonial  days  these  industries  of  transportation  and 
the  problems  connected  with  them  did  not  exist.  That 
fact  accounts  for  some  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of 
colonial  life  and  work.  Wheat  and  corn  and  potatoes 
could  not  be  easily  taken  to  market,  but  cattle  could  be 
driven,  pork  could  be  hauled  on  the  sledges  in  winter, 
and  potatoes  could  be  turned  into  starch  or  whisky. 
Whisky  was  a  very  highly  condensed  form  of  grain, 
starch  a  condensed  form  of  potato.  You  will  find  that 
the  marketable  products  of  the  farms  went  into  those 
forms  of  merchandise  which  combined  the  most  value 
with  the  least  bulk.  There  were  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  distilleries  in  the  state  in  18 10,  turning  out 
one  hundred  and  seventy-three  thousand  gallons  of 
spirituous  liquors. 

An  agricultural  community,  even  in  its  earliest  days, 
needs  certain  artisans.  It  needs,  for  example,  black- 
smiths, carpenters,  masons,  tailors,  and  shoemakers. 
Individual  workmen  were  more  necessary  in  these  crafts 


I42  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

then  than  they  are  to-day,  because  now  great  factories 
do  the  work,  and  in  the  factories  each  man  does  only  a 
small  part  of  the  work  which  is  done  on  the  completed 
article.  Then  each  workman  mastered  the  entire  trade 
and  was  a  sort  of  factory  in  himself. 

The  products  of  such  labor  were  locally  consumed. 
To-day  they  enter  into  trade  and  come  even  into  the 
range  of  international  commerce.  The  individual  black- 
smith then  made  many  tools  ;  the  individual  carpenter 
made  many  wares.  Over  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  cabinet  work  was  done  in  the 
state  in  1810.  Fulling  mills  dressed  many  yards  of 
cloth.  In  the  year  above  mentioned  the  amount  was 
nearly  a  million  yards  ;  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  mills 
were  then  operating.  The  local  tannery  tanned  and 
dressed  many  skins.  The  itinerant  cobbler  worked  no 
small  part  of  these  up  into  boots  and  shoes.  Sixty- 
five  thousand  pairs  of  boots  and  more  than  twice  that 
number  of  shoes  were  made  in   18 10. 

Some  of  these  trades  necessitated  others.  The  black- 
smith must  have  iron.  There  was  plenty  of  it  in  the 
state,  and  so  you  will  find  that  the  production  of  iron 
was  localized  where  ore  and  fuel  were  near  together. 
Many  little  iron  mines,  foundriesvand  forges  were  scat- 
tered over  the  older-settled  portions  of  Vermont.  There 
came  a  time  when  coke  instead  of  charcoal  was  used 
in  the  furnaces.  That  did  away  with  the  necessity  of 
near-by  forests  for  fuel.  There  came  a  time  when  new 
processes  were  invented  for  converting  pig  iron  into  bar 
in  large  quantities.  That  centralized  the  iron  business 
in  certain  localities  where  the  largest  natural  deposits  of 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  143 

ore  were  found.  So  the  iron  business  dropped  out  of 
sight  in  Vermont  after  a  time,  except  when  unusual 
emergencies  created  a  special  demand.  At  Woodford 
there  was  a  forge  built  for  making  anchors  for  the  gun- 
boats which  Jefferson's  administration  bequeathed  the 
country.  The  War  of  18 12  also  acted  as  a  stimulus  to 
Vermont's  iron  business,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

A  Vermont  lawyer  who  was  on  Governor  Chittenden's 
staff  in  1 794,  and  was  in  the  same  year  sent  to  England 
as  a  special  agent  for  the  Episcopal  Church,  wrote  some 
letters  describing  the  condition  of  things  in  Vermont 
as  he  knew  them  before  he  left  the  state.  The  letters 
were  published  in  a  little  book  in  London,1  and  they 
make  rather  interesting  reading  now.  Among  other 
things  this  writer  very  frequently  mentions  the  iron 
industries  of  different  towns. 

We  read  in  his  book  that  Tinmouth  then  had  foundries 
and  a  furnace  at  which  all  kinds  of  hollow  ware  were 
cast.  At  Skenesboro  were  Mr.  Arwin's  large  forges 
and  foundries.  Mr.  Burnham  of  Middletown  also  had 
large  foundries  and  forges.  At  Fairhaven  a  furnace 
had  been  erected  for  casting  all  kinds  of  hollow  iron- 
ware. At  the  same  place  were  also  two  forges,  and  a 
slitting  mill  for  making  nail  rods.  Benson  and  Orwell, 
towns  on  Lake  Champlain,  abounded  with  ore  and  had  a 
number  of  foundries  and  forges.  At  Brandon  good  bar 
iron  was  made.  At  Chittenden  was  a  large  furnace  which 
yielded  $10,000  as  the  proceeds  of  its  second  blast  in 
1795.  Between  Burlington  and  Colchester,  on  the  great 
falls  in  the  Onion  River,  were  Ira  Allen's  works.      At 

1  J.  A.  Graham,  Descriptive  Sketch  of  Vermont,  London,  1797. 


144  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Vergennes  were  others.  So  the  account  runs  on,  show- 
ing us  that  the  iron  business  was  quite  a  factor  in  early 
industry  in  the  state  and  that  the  works  were  scattered 
over  the  older  western  portions.  The  census  of  1810 
showed  that  there  were  sixty-seven  cut-nail  factories  and 
sixty-five  trip  hammers  in  operation. 

The  letters  also  indicate  a  general  thrift  among  the 
farming  people.  The  inhabitants  of  Shaftsbury  were 
said  to  be  wealthy.  They  had  especially  favorable  mar- 
kets at  Troy  and  New  City.  They  evidently  possessed 
handsome  houses,  for  it  is  especially  mentioned  that 
they  used  fine  white  marble  for  underpinnings  and  fire- 
places. It  was  also  used  for  tombstones.  The  uplands 
of  Sunderland  produced  large  crops  of  hay,  wheat,  Indian 
corn,  hemp,  and  flax.  There  were  farmers  in  Claren- 
don who  cut  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  tons 
of  hay  in  a  season.  They  made  butter  and  cheese 
in  abundance,  so  of  course  must  have  had  good  herds 
of  cattle. 

Farmers  of  the  mountain  towns,  like  Readsboro, 
Stamford,  Glastonbury,  and  Somerset,  raised  cattle  for 
the  markets.  In  such  regions,  well  up  among  the  hills, 
game  was  still  abundant.  The  moose  had  gone  north, 
and  beaver,  too,  had  left  the  more  thickly  settled  southern 
portions  of  the  state ;  but  foxes,  wolves,  deer,  bears,  and 
rabbits  still  remained.  The  town  of  Dorset  was  so 
infested  with  wolves  that  sheep  raising  was  hazardous 
business. 

We  hear  of  the  farmers  of  Cavendish  getting  lime  to 
use  as  fertilizer  at  the  kilns  of  Saltash,  now  Plymouth. 
The  towns  of  Ludlow  and  Reading  were  also  supplied 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1S12  145 

from  the  same  source.  The  soil  about  Bennington  was 
especially  good,  and  vast  quantities  of  wheat  and  Indian 
corn  were  raised,  besides  great  crops  of  hay  of  red  and 
white  clover  and  herd's  grass.  Winter  wheat  was  then 
a  sure  crop  in  Vermont.  Wheat  was  raised  for  the  New 
York  markets,  in  fact,  until  about  1825,  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  state. 

This  part  of  the  state  had  the  advantage  of  being 
near  water  communication  to  Troy.  The  markets  on  the 
Hudson  were  always  good,  and  roads  were  excellent  for 
the  times.  In  winter,  especially,  when  they  were  smooth 
with  snow  and  the  Hudson  was  bridged  with  ice,  it  was 
comparatively  easy  to  market  any  kind  of  produce.  Ox 
and  horse  teams  were  kept  busy  going  to  Albany  with 
loads  of  wheat,  pork,  beef,  butter,  cheese,  and  potash, 
and  returning  with  store  goods  or  a  snug  little  sum  of 
ready  money  for  the  thrifty  owner. 

We  begin  to  hear  more  about  fruits  and  fruit  raising. 
Bennington  boasted  of  apples,  peaches,  pears,  red  and 
white  plums,  grapes,  currants,  gooseberries,  etc.  It  is 
said  that  wax  grafting  was  invented  by  one  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Shaftsbury,  although  this  was  at  a  later 
date,  and  that  having  perfected  the  system  he  taught 
it  to  others.  So  proficient  did  his  disciples  in  the  art 
become  that  in  the  months  of  April  and  May  the  exodus, 
of  grafters  almost  depopulated  the  town  of  the  male  por- 
tion of  its  inhabitants. 

More  evidences  of  thrift  appear  in  the  descriptions 
of  houses  of  the  time.  Those  at  Bennington  are  said 
to  be  positively  "  elegant."  They  were  made  of  wooden 
frames  and  filled  in  with  brick  and  mortar.     Some  were 


i4"  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

even  made  entirely  of  briek.  The  house  of  a  certain 
Mr.  Tichenor,  so  the  writer  of  those  letters  said,  had 
"chimney  pieces  and  hearths  of  beautiful  clouded  marble 
as  highly  polished  as  any  I  have  seen  in  London."  If 
the  writer  were  alive  to-day  he  would  be  pleased  to  learn 
that  Vermont  marble  has  not  lost  any  of  the  reputation 
which  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  make  known  to  the  Old 
World. 

If  one  wishes  to  learn  about  the  life  of  the  people 
and  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  what  was  going  on  over 
the  state,  this  eighteenth-century  gossip  is  of  no  small 
interest.  We  learn  that  the  schools  of  Manchester 
were  especially  good;  that  the  town  of  Newbury  was 
supplied  with  water  by  an  aqueduct ;  that  the  same  town 
had  the  "  most  elegant  church  in  the  state  "  and  the  only 
bell ;  that  at  Bellows  Falls  Colonel  Hale  had  built  a  toll- 
gate  across  the  Connecticut  River;  that  rights  of  lock 
navigation  had  been  secured  over  the  falls,  so  that  the 
settlements  above  could  enjoy  the  blessings  of  river 
transportation;  that  Windsor  had  one  of  the  best  corn 
mills  in  New  England;  that  at  Rutland  there  were  an 
oil  mill,  a  brewery,  and  a  hat  factory;  that  Fairhaven 
possessed  a  paper  mill,  and  a  printing  press  which  used 
paper  made  at  the  mill  from  the  bark  of  basswood  trees ; 
that  ore  from  a  certain  lead  mine  had  been  t^ken  to 
London  for  Dr.  Johnson  to  analyze;  that  Mr/ Clark  of 
Orwell  could  make  Epsom  salts  from  his  salt  spring 
by  boiling  down  the  water. 

The  author  also  makes  mention  of  the  great  pines  in 
the  state,  some  of  them  being  six  feet  through  at  the 
base.     Other    fine    timber  abounded   in   his   day.     He 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  147 

speaks  of  the  winter  travel  to  Canada  by  sledges.  In 
various  towns  schools  are  mentioned,  both  day  schools 
and  academies.  There  were  seven  academies  and  gram- 
mar schools  incorporated  before  1800,  and  fifteen  more 
before  the  war.  Churches,  oftentimes  several  denomi- 
nations, existed  in  almost  every  town.  He  says  the 
religion  at  one  place  was  a  "  medley  of  almost  every 
denomination  under  heaven,"  —  a  condition  which  would 
no  longer  be  regarded  as  peculiar. 

Conditions  which  awaited  new  settlers  seem  to  have 
been  more  favorable  than  in  earlier  days.  These  letters 
describe  settlers  as  coming  from  Connecticut  to  Sand- 
gate,  cutting  the  timber,  chopping  it  into  lengths,  piling 
these  in  heaps,  burning  them,  collecting  the  ashes,  boil- 
ing them  down  into  salts,  harrowing  over  the  land,  and 
sowing  it  to  wheat  or  planting  Indian  corn,  without  any 
further  cultivation.  Wheat  was  said  to  yield  from  thirty 
to  forty  bushels  per  acre.  The  writer  remarked :  "  Thus 
the  labourer  gets  his  grounds  cleared  without  any  expense 
and  with  little  trouble,  and  his  first  harvest  seldom  fails 
of  yielding  him  double  the  original  cost  of  the  whole 
land  so  cultivated."  By  saying  that  the  farmer  got 
his  ground  cleared  without  expense  the  writer  probably 
meant  that  the  product  of  the  ashes  would  sell  for 
enough  to  repay  the  labor  of  clearing. 

B.    Industrial  Transition 

New  enterprises  were  being  started.  In  181 1  the 
legislature  granted  a  charter  authorizing  the  manufac- 
ture of  glass.  A  factory  was  built  on  the  western  shore 
of  Lake   Dunmore,  and  ran  for  many  years,  employing 


148  HISTORY    OF    VKKMONT 

about  forty  people.  At  Middlebury,  a  little  before  the 
War  of  1812,  a  stone  cotton-factory  was  built  which 
made  cotton  cloth  that  sold  for  fifty  cents  a  yard.  At 
the  same  place,  a  little  earlier  than  this,  marble  had 
been  found,  and  a  factory  was  built.  It  was  the  first 
extensive  one  in  the  state  for  working-  marble.  Quar- 
ries had  been  opened,  however,  a  good  deal  earlier.  In 
Dorset,  in  1785,  Isaac  Underhill  was  making  fire  jambs, 
chimney  backs,  hearths,  and  lintels  for  the  capacious 
fireplaces  of  that  day.  Limestone  or  slate  had  been 
used  previously,  but  the  new  fashion  of  using  marble 
once  begun,  people  came  from  distances  of  fifty  or  a 
hundred  miles  to  get  these  beautiful  fireplace  stones. 

This  was  years  before  marble  was  sawn,  so  the  sheets 
had  to  be  riven  off  where  Nature  had  formed  strata 
from  four  to  eight  inches  thick  and  then  hewn  into 
the  desired  shape  and  dimensions  with  mallet  and  chisel. 
When  one  layer  ran  out,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but 
find  another  which  had  already  yielded  sufficiently  to 
atmospheric  forces  to  allow  the  hand  of  man  to  com- 
plete the  work. 

Railroads  had  not  as  yet  pierced  the  state.  Steam 
navigation  did  not  begin  until  1808.  Over  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  state  Captain  Samuel  Morey  of  Fairlee  was 
years  before  that  working  on  his  model  of  a  steamer, 
and  as  early  as  1791  constructed  a  steamer  and  exhib- 
ited it  on  the  Connecticut  River.  He  afterward  trans- 
ferred it  to  Morey  Lake,  and  in  1795  secured  a  patent. 
He  also  showed  his  invention  to  friends  of  Fulton,  and 
tradition  says  that  when  a  few  years  later  the  latter 
produced    his   triumphant   work    the   disgusted   captain 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  149 

sank  his  own  apparatus  to  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  It 
has  been  searched  for,  but  like  Captain  Kidd's  treasure, 
non  constat.  Lake  Cham  plain  is  not  far  from  the  Hud- 
son River,  and  it  was  not  long  after  the  Clermont  had 
puffed  its  victorious  way  from  New  York  to  Albany 
before  one  of  the  finest  steamers  in  the  world  could  be 
seen  tearing  about  the  lake  at  the  terrific  speed  of  five 
miles  an  hour.     Steam  navigation  had  come  to  stay. 

Of  course  sailing  vessels  had  traversed  the  lake  for 
years.  In  1749  the  Swedish  naturalist,  Kalm,  visited 
Fort  Frederick  and  found  there  a  sailing  vessel  plying 
regularly  between  that  point  and  St.  John's  in  Canada. 
That  was  probably  the  first  such  vessel  built  on  the 
lake ;  but  between  the  French  and  the  English  the 
practice  did  not  cease,  and  after  the  wars  were  over 
the  lake  became  a  highway  of  commerce. 

One  of  the  few  products  of  the  Vermont  forest  for 
which  there  was  then  a  demand  was  ship  timber.  This 
could  be  marketed  only  when  there  was  water  near  to 
float  it  to  the  ports.  In  Vermont  that  confined  the 
early  lumber  business  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River  or  Lake  Champlain.  Since  none  of  the  ship 
timber  in  western  Vermont  was  on  a  water  route  to  the 
New  England  ports,  it  was  taken  to  Europe  instead. 
The  well-timbered  sections  of  white  and  Norway  pine 
bordering  the  lake  had  through  that  body  and  its  outlet 
water  communication  to  Quebec  and  thence  to  Europe. 
In  1786  Ira  Allen  built  at  Winooski  Falls  the  first  saw- 
mills in  this  section  and  sent  the  lumber  to  Quebec. 
The  demand  was  for  oak  for  ship  timber,  and  white  and 
Norway  pine  for  masts  and  spars.     A  good  trade  grew 


150  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

up.  The  Quebec  outlet  for  Vermont  timber  lasted  a 
third  of  a  century,  and  then  the  trade  turned  and  began 
to  come  the  other  way. 

It  must  have  been  quite  an  undertaking  to  get  a  raft 
together  and  take  it  through  to  Quebec  as  they  used  to 
do.  The  men  lived  on  the  raft,  equipped  with  tents,  pro- 
visions, and  cooking  utensils.     On  this  crude  eighteenth- 


n 

4    1 

I^pP     '^~ 

Hatchels  and  Wool  Card     , 

century  house  boat  they  made  their  way  leisurely  down 
to  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  blown  by  the  favoring  winds. 
We  can  imagine  a  little  excitement  now  and  then  at  the 
falls  as  the  huge,  unwieldy  craft  went  blundering  along. 
Lumber  trade  was  not  the  only  trade  with  Canada, 
and  Quebec  was  not  the  only  mart.  The  settlers  found 
in  Montreal  a  nearer  market,  and  sailing  craft  of  all 
kinds  plied  the  lake  picking  up  cargoes  of  wheat  and 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1S12 


151 


potash,  products  of  the  Champlain  Valley,  and  bringing 
in  return  merchandise  that  had  come  from  over  the  seas. 
In  the  winter  long  trains  of  sledges  made  their  annual 
trips  to  Montreal,  just  as  from  the  other  parts  of  the  state 
they  went  to  Boston  or  Portland,  taking  their  loads  of  beef, 
pork,  and  other  produce  to  exchange  for  goods  and  cash. 
Before  the  War  of  1 8 1 2  some  important  changes  had 
begun  in  the  older  portions  of  the  state  in  the  manner 
of  cloth  making.  Before  1800  no  very  successful  experi- 
ments had  been 
made 


in 


making 


PI 

1  Mm 

w** 

!|ggi»r: 

cotton  or  woolen 
in  large  quantities 
by  machinery.  So 
far  as  this  state 
was  concerned 
cotton  was  hardly 
an  article  of  com- 
merce at  all.  It 
was  rarely  used 
for  domestic  pur- 
poses,  nearly   all 

the  cloth  being  linen  or  woolen  made  by  hand  from 
flax  and  wool  raised  on  the  farm.  The  flax  was  rotted 
in  the  field  and  then  made  ready  for  further  use  by  the 
hand  brake  and  swingling  knife.  The  tow  was  then 
separated  from  the  finer  flax  by  hatchels.  The  flax  was 
then  wound  upon  the  distaff  and  spun  on  the  little 
wheel  turned  by  a  footboard,  and  thus  made  into  linen 
yarn.  This  yarn  was  then  woven  into  cloth  for  sheets, 
pillowcases,    towels,    tablecloths,    and    undergarments. 


Flax  or  Wool  Reels 


152 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Spinning  Wheel 


In  1S10  there  were  nearly  two  million  yards  of  it  thus 
made.     The  tow  was  spun  on  a  large  wheel,  like  wool, 

and  made  into  filling  for 
linen  warp  or  a  coarse 
cloth  for  common  uses. 

Wool  was  carded  by 
hand  by  the  farmers' 
wives  and  daughters,  and 
then  was  spun  into  yarn 
on  the  great  wheel.  Then 
it  could  be  woven  into 
flannel  cloth.  Such 
flannel  as  was  not  wanted  for  beds  and  undergarments 
was  sent  to  the  fulling  mill  to  be  prepared  for  outside 
clothing.  That  which  was  designed  for  men's  wear  was 
fulled,  colored,  and  sheared  by  hand.  Shearing  was  the 
shortening  of  the  nap  on  the 
cloth.  That  designed  for  wo- 
men's wear  was  dyed  and  made 
glossy  by  pressing.  It  was 
then  ready  for  winter  dresses. 
The  improvements  which 
were  spoken  of  were,  first,  the 
introduction  of  the  carding: 
machine,  which  lessened  the 
labor  of  preparing  the  wool  for 
spinning 


Carding:  mills  were 


Flax  Wheel 


built,  and  then  the  wool  could 

be  taken  to  them  to  be  carded 

instead  of  being  carded  by  hand  at  home.     In  1801  such 

a  mill  was   set   up  at  New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire. 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1S12  153 

Within  nine  years  there  were  1 39  carding  machines  run- 
ning in  this  state,  whose  capacity  was  798,500  pounds 
of  wool.  Imagine  the  relief  which  the  hand  carders 
felt!  Fulling  mills  had  already  been  in  operation  for 
a  long  time. 

In  1793  Eli  Whitney  invented  the  cotton  gin,  a  device 
for  removing  the  seeds  from  cotton.      Cotton  wool  then 


Swifts 


came  into  more  common  use.  It  was  made  into  cloth 
in  the  farmers'  homes,  at  first,  until  machines  were 
invented  for  making  it  into  yarn  in  factories.  The 
yarn  was  then  put  out  to  be  woven  on  the  common 
loom.  In  1 8 10  there  were  over  130,000  yards  of  cot- 
ton used  in  the  state,  but  this  was  a  very  small  amount 
compared    with    the    1,200,000    yards    of    woolen   and 


154  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

nearly  2,000,000  yards  of  linen.  In  that  year  there  were 
in  Vermont  23  spinning  jennies,  equal  to  about  800  spin- 
dles ;  but  there  were  nearly  68,000  spinning  wheels  and 
1 500  looms.  However,  the  change  had  begun  and  it  was 
not  long  before  the  spinning  machine  and  power  loom 
revolutionized  processes  completely  in  both  cotton  and 
woolen  manufacturing. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  before  the  War  of  1 8 1 2  a  few 
very  important  changes  had  begun  which  were  to  have 
far-reaching  effects  on  the  cloth-making  business  of  this 
country.  Some  of  these  changes  were  to  fix  the  indus- 
tries of  the  South  and  make  slavery  a  harder  thing  than 
ever  to  uproot ;  but  so  far  as  they  concerned  Vermont 
these  changes  were  but  slightly  felt  before  the  War  of 
18 1 2,  and  only  in  the  older  portions  of  the  state.  Long 
after  the  war,  as  we  shall  see,  these  hand  processes,  which 
have  now  long  been  abandoned  and  have  left  us  only 
picturesque  relics  of  spinning  wheels  as  their  legacy, 
continued  to  prevail  throughout  the  greater  portion  of 
the  state. 

C.    Educational  Conditions 

In  framing  the  constitution  of  the  state  the  fathers 
made  provision  for  the  education  of  the  children,  and 
really  laid  the  basis  of  the  common-school  system. 
They  provided  for  different  classes  of  schools,  foresee- 
ing well  the  need  of  higher  education  as  well  as  that 
given  by  the  common  schools.  "  One  grammar  school 
in  each  county  and  one  university  in  the  state  ought 
to  be  established  by  the  direction  of  the  General 
Assembly."     Thus    did    the   men   whose   own   training 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  155 

had  been  in  the  hard  school  of  adversity  provide  a  way 
for  their  children  to  reap  advantages  which  they  had 
never  known  and  never  could  know. 

In  1 79 1  the  University  of  Vermont  was  incorporated 
and  located  at  Burlington.  In  1800  Middlebury  Col- 
lege was  incorporated.  Before  the  War  of  18 12  the 
two  institutions  had  graduated  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
six  students.  The  operations  of  that  war  somewhat 
embarrassed  the  pursuit  of  education  at  the  former 
college.  In  the  summer  of  181 3  large  quantities  of 
United  States  arms  were  deposited  in  the  university 
building  and  a  guard  of  soldiers  stationed  there,  which 
"very  much  interrupted  the  collegiate  exercises,"  it 
is  said.  The  next  year  collegiate  exercises  were  en- 
tirely suspended  and  the  building  was  rented  to  the 
government. 

Grammar  schools  and  academies  increased  in  number, 
medical  societies  were  formed,  newspapers  had  begun 
to  flourish,  all  before  the  War  of  18 12.  Town  libraries 
were  not  unknown,  and  the  work  of  training  teachers 
had  begun.  As  early  as  1785,  J.  Eddy,  the  Quaker 
town  clerk  of  Danby,  opened  a  select  school  expressly 
to  train  young  men  to  teach.  At  Pawlet,  in  1804,  was 
organized  one  of  the  first  educational  societies  in  the 
United  States. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  average 
of  intelligence  was  low  in  the  state.  It  was  not.  The 
facts  just  cited  would  be  sufficient  to  indicate  an  excep- 
tionally keen  interest  in  educational  matters.  The  min- 
isters of  the  early  churches  were  often  men  of  keen 
minds  and  clear  thought,  as  well  as  possessors  of  vivid 


i56 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Dr.  Williams  of  Rutland  was  a  Doctor 
of  Laws,  a  member  of  the  Meteorological  Society  of 
Germany,  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia, 
and  of  the  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  Massa- 
chusetts. His  reputation,  at  least,  was  international. 
Such  men  of  course  were  an  exception,  but  general 
intelligence  was  the  rule. 

At  Westminster,  in  1778,  was 
established  the  first  printing- 
office  in  the 
state.  At  the 
session  of  the 
legislature  fol- 
lowing this,  state 
printers  were 
appointed.  The 
two  preceding 
sessions  had  pro- 
mulgated  their 
laws  in  manu- 
script. In  Feb- 
ruary, 1 78 1,  the 
first  newspaper 
printed  in  the 
state  was  started 
at  Westminster  by  the  proprietors  of  the  printing  office 
mentioned  above.  It  was  called  The  Vermont  Gazette, 
or  Green  Mountain  Post  Boy.  It  had  an  interesting 
couplet  as  its  motto : 

Pliant  as  reeds  where  streams  of  freedom  glide, 
Firm  as  the  hills  to  stem  oppression's  tide. 


The  First  Printing  Press  in  America 

On  this  press  the  first  newspaper  in  Vermont  was  printed  in 
1781,  in  the  Westminster  Courthouse 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  157 

It  was  not  destined  to  be  as  enduring  as  the  hills,  for 
in  about  two  years  it  was  discontinued.  Other  papers 
were  started,  however,  and  before  the  year  1800  the 
state  was  the  possessor  of  three  enterprising  journals, 
one  at  Bennington,  one  at  Windsor,  and  one  at  Rutland. 

D.    Financial  and  Economic  Legislation 

In  the  period  which  we  are  now  studying,  Vermont 
issued  paper  money  and  established  coinage.  Before 
and  during  the  Revolution  the  monetary  conditions  of 
the  American  colonies  were  in  a  fearful  and  wonder- 
ful state.  The  issues  of  paper  money  by  the  separate 
colonies  and  of  Continental  currency  by  the  combined 
colonies  went  the  way  of  all  fictitious  values.  Depre- 
ciation went  on  until  to  say  that  a  thing  was  not  worth 
a  Continental  indicated  a  very  low  estimate  of  its  worth. 

To  add  to  the  disturbances  caused  by  its  own  falling 
value,  the  colonial  issues  which  were  legally  made  had 
to  cope  with  a  tremendous  output  of  counterfeit  bills. 
Our  present  manufacture  of  paper  money  is  so  safe- 
guarded that  it  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to  counterfeit 
it  successfully,  and  a  comparatively  easy  thing  to  detect 
the  fraud.     But  the  situation  was  very  different  then. 

The  people  of  this  state  suffered  so  much  from 
counterfeit  money  and  the  failure  of  banks  that  agita- 
tion began  for  the  issue  of  currency  by  the  state.1     So, 

1  The  returns  from  six  counties  in  1808  show  sixty-one  indictments  for 
counterfeiting  or  passing  counterfeit  money.  In  November  of  that  year 
the  General  Assembly  requested  the  governor  to  secure  the  aid  of  the 
Canadian  authorities  to  disperse  the  counterfeiters  who  infested  the 
southern  borders  of  Canada  "preying  upon  the  property  of  the  good 
citizens  of  this  and  the  United  States."  —  Governor  and  Council,  V,  502. 


1*8 


HISTORY    OF    VKKMONT 


in  1 78 1,  Vermont  determined  to  follow  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance the  example  of  Congress  and  the  neighboring 
states.  An  issue  of  ,£25, 1 5  5  in  paper  money  was  author- 
ized. The  bills  were  to  be  in  denominations  running 
from  one  shilling  to  £$.  Notice  that  this  was  before 
the  adoption  of  dollars  and  cents,  or  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  the  decimal  system  of  currency. 

In  order  to  make  this 
money  worth  what  it 
claimed  to  be  on  its  face, 
provision  was  made  to 
lay  taxes  to  redeem  it. 
It  was  to  be  redeemed 
by  the  treasurer  of  the 
state  by  June  1,  1782, 
with  specie  at  the  rate 
of  six  shillings  to  the 
Spanish  milled  dollar. 
It  is  to  the  credit  of  the 
state  that  it  was  re- 
deemed and  for  that 
reason  its  value  was 
maintained.  Notice 
that  Spanish  money  was 
the  prevailing  coin  current  at  that  time.  It  came  to  the 
colonies  by  way  of  the  West  India  trade. 

Not  content  with  this  experiment,  some  of  the  people 
began  agitation  for  the  establishment  of  banks  a  few 
years  later.  The  bank  measure  was  voted  down  in 
1787,  but  came  up  again  in  1803,  when  application 
was  made  for  the  establishment  of  banks  at   Windsor 


Facsimile  of  Vermont  Bill  of 
Credit 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  159 

and  Burlington.  Again  the  proposition  was  turned 
aside,  thanks  to  the  governor  and  council.  Since  the 
bill  had  passed  the  house,  the  governor  and  council 
deemed  it  expedient  to  give  their  reasons  for  vetoing  it. 
These  reasons  stand  to-day  as  a  witness  of  the  sound 
common  sense  of  these  men.  The  first  one  really  cov- 
ered the  case  and  is  as  follows  : 

Because  bank  bills  being  regarded  as  money,  and  money  like 
water  always  seeking  its  level,  the  bills  put  into  circulation  in  this 
state  must  displace  nearly  the  same  sum  of  money  now  in  circula- 
tion among  us,  and  by  driving  it  into  the  seaports,  facilitate  its 
exportation  to  foreign  countries  ;  which,  as  bank  bills  cannot  be 
made  a  legal  tender,  must  prove  a  calamity  to  the  citizens  generally, 
and  especially  to  those  who  dwell  at  a  distance  from  the  proposed 
bank. 

However,  the  subject  was  revived  again,  and  in  1806 
a  state  bank  was  chartered.  It  became  insolvent  like 
all  the  rest,  and  was  within  a  few  years  wound  up  and 
its  bills  burned  as  fast  as  they  were  received  for  taxes. 

You  may  have  heard  of  that  experiment  in  coining 
money  in  Massachusetts  which  gave  rise  to  the  "  pine- 
tree  shilling."  About  a  century  later  than  that  Ver- 
mont undertook  to  supply  her  needs  for  a  current  coin 
in  something  the  same  fashion.  It  was  in  1785  that 
the  Vermont  legislature  granted  to  Reuben  Harmon  of 
Rupert  the  right  of  coining  copper  money  for  two  years. 
The  same  privilege  was  then  extended  for  eight  years. 
Harmon  gave  bonds  of  ^5000  that  he  would  do  the 
work  faithfully.  No  coin  was  to  be  made  of  less  than 
one  third  of  an  ounce  Troy  weight. 

Harmon  had  to  build  a  place  to  conduct  the  business 
in,  make  a  furnace  for  smelting,  and  get  machinery  for 


i6o 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


rolling  the  bars  and  cutting  and  stamping  the  coins. 
The  latter  process  was  done  by  hand  with  a  powerful 
iron  screw  attached  to  a  heavy  beam  overhead.  It  was 
said  that  a  speed  of  sixty  coins  a  minute  could  be  made 
with  this  contrivance,  but  in  actual  practice  they  never 

averaged  over 
thirty. 

These  first 
coins  are  de- 
scribed  as 
follows  :  Ob- 
verse, a  sun 
rising  from 
behind  the 
hills  and  a 
plow  in  the 
foreground  ; 
legend  Ver- 
montis  Res 
P  u  b  l  i  c  a 


Early  Vermont  Coins 


1785. 1  Reverse,  a  radiated  eye,  surrounded  by  thirteen 
stars;  legend  Quarta  Decima  Stella.2  The  prophecy 
came  true.  Another  coin  was  made  later,  after  Harmon's 
time  had  been  extended.  He  apparently  did  not  make  any 
profit  on  his  first  venture,  so  applied  for  the  extension, 
which  was  granted.  The  weight  of  the  coin  was  also 
diminished  from  one  third  ounce  Troy  weight  to  "  pieces 
weighing  not  less  than  4  pennyweights,  15  grains  each." 
Harmon  then  secured  partners  from  New  York  for  the 


1  "  The  Republic  of  Vermont." 

2  "  The  Fourteenth  Star,"  i.e.,  the  fourteenth  state  in  the  Union. 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812         161 

remainder  of  the  term.  They  brought  dies  which  made 
coins  like  the  following :  on  one  side  a  head  with 
Auctori  Vermon.1  On  the  reverse  was  a  figure  of  a 
woman,  with  the  legend  Inde  et  Lib,  1788.2 

We  do  not  know  how  long  this  firm  continued  to 
coin  money  or  how  much  it  coined  in  all.  There  is 
some  reason  to  suppose  that  the  mint  ceased  to  operate 
in  1788.  After  three  years  the  firm  was  to  pay  for 
its  privilege  by  giving  to  the  treasury  of  the  state  two 
and  a  half  per  cent  of  all  the  money  coined.  It  is  said 
that  about  the  year  1800  considerable  counterfeiting  was 
done  in  this  vicinity,  and  a  little  detective  work  by  the 
people  disclosed  the  fact  that  three  brothers  by  the 
name  of  Crane  were  making  counterfeit  silver  coins  in 
the  woods  east  of  Rupert,  in  a  secluded  glen  at  the  base 
of  Mount  Anthony.  Upon  discovery  they  fled  to  parts 
unknown,  and  their  machinery  was  destroyed. 

There  is  one  curious  feature  of  colonial  lawgiving 
which  perhaps  deserves  a  word  here,  since  in  this  period 
we  see  its  vanishing  traces.  That  is  the  custom  of 
granting  lotteries  for  the  aid  of  enterprises  of  various 
sorts  both  public  and  private.  It  seems  to  us  an 
almost  shocking  ethical  laxity  in  an  age  which  we  have 
become  accustomed  to  regard  as  especially  strict  and  puri- 
tanical. Perhaps  if  we  were  to  look  at  the  age  a  little 
more  sharply  we  would  modify  our  views  of  it  some- 
what. This  practice  of  granting  lotteries,  at  any  rate, 
was  quite  a  universal  custom  throughout  the  colonies, 
and  was  employed  to  secure  money  to  build  a  church  or 

1  "  By  the  Authority  of  Vermont." 

2  "  Independence  and  Liberty." 


162 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


help  a  college  or  do  any  similar  work  of  religious  and 
educational  uplifting. 

In  this  state  the  object  of  the  lotteries  seems  to  have 
run  more  to  internal  improvements.  Of  the  total  num- 
ber of  twenty-four  lotteries  granted  between  1783  and 
1804,  when  the  last  grant  was  made,  nine  were  either 
for  repairing  or  building  bridges,  and  five  were  for 
repairing  or  building  roads.  Two  were  made  to  help 
men  erect  breweries,  and  one  to  assist  in  building  the 

courthouse  at 
Rutland.  Bridges 
were  to  be  built 
over  the  White 
River,  the  Black 
River,  the  Otta 
Ouechee  River, 
the  Otter  Creek, 
the  Lamoille  and 
the  D  eer  fi  eld 
rivers  from  the 
proceeds  of  such 
speculation.  Oc- 
casionally a  lottery  was  granted  to  help  a  man  recover 
from  losses  sustained  by  fire.  Fire-insurance  compa- 
nies had  not  yet  been  established  in  the  state,  and 
the  method  of  lottery  was  doubtless  thought  to  be  as 
equitable  a  way  as  any  to  distribute  losses. 

Under  the  stimulus  of  lotteries  turnpike  companies 
were  incorporated,  and  for  some  years  following  1 796  a 
turnpike  craze  swept  the  state.  Fifty  companies  were 
incorporated    within    a    few    years.     They   were   rarely 


The  Governor  Palmer  Mouse,  Dan- 
ville, WHERE  THE  LEGISLATURE  MET 
IN    1805 


REVOLUTION    TO    THli    WAR    OF    1S12 


I63 


a  success,  and  as  public  highways  multiplied  it  became 
evident  that  the  tollgate  was  doomed.  Most  of  the 
companies  surrendered  their  charters,  and  their  roads 
became  public  highways. 

One  or  two  other  matters  deserve  to  be  mentioned, 
although  perhaps  they  do  not,  strictly  speaking,  come 
under  the   caption   of  financial  or  economic  legislation. 


^ 

.<',: 

m 

\         Jl 

"    '-'■■'    '•  I               »                     ■* 

ML'***-* 

&yH 

The  Present  State  House  at  Montpelier 

The  first  of  these  is  the  permanent  location  of  legisla- 
tive sessions  and  the  erection  of  a  state  house.  In  1805 
Montpelier  was  made  the  capital  of  the  state.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  dignity  of  the  state  was  enhanced 
greatly  by  having  a  fixed  capital  instead  of  an  itinerant 
legislature.  The  other  thing  to  be  noted  is  the  rapid 
formation  of  counties.  Seven  were  established  before 
1 79 1,  and  four  more  in  the  following  year.     After  this 


164  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

the  work  went  on  more  slowly,  the  last  county,  Lamoille, 
not  being  formed  until  1835. 

Life  in  the  Newer  Portions  of  the  State 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolution  population  rapidly 
increased,  and  a  fair  share  of  it  sought  the  newer  por- 
tions of  northern  Vermont  and  the  "  Y  "  of  the  Green 
Mountains.  The  Hazen  road  became  famous  as  a  means 
of  transit  for  settlers  across  country  into  the  new  land. 
Peacham,  which  for  a  time  had  been  the  terminus  of 
the  road,  had  a  period  of  prospeiity,  and  was  of  some 
importance  for  a  few  years  as  a  point  of  Indian  trade. 
In  1805  the  Passumpsic  Turnpike  Company  was  incor- 
porated and  did  something  in  road  construction. 

The  writer  of  the  gossipy  letters  which  we  have 
quoted  says  that  for  six  years  previous  to  his  account 
Caledonia  County  had  a  rapid  growth.  Orleans  County 
remained  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness  until  after 
the  Revolution,  inhabited  by  Indians  and  visited  by 
an  occasional  white  hunter.  After  the  Revolution  the 
southwestern  portion  of  this  county  was  made  accessible 
by  the  Hazen  road. 

Returning  for  a  little  to  the  settlement  of  Caledonia 
County,  we  find  there  a  new  element  among  the  incom- 
ing settlers.  Hitherto  we  have  noticed  only  settlers 
who  had  come  from  southern  New  England.  Now 
we  have  immigrants  from  abroad.  Certain  companies 
formed  in  Scotland  sent  agents  to  America  to  find  where 
good  farming  land  lay  and  to  make  purchases  of  tracts 
in  favorable  sections.     It  happened  that  the  president 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812         165 

of  Princeton  College,  Rev.  John  Witherspoon,  owned  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  Ryegate,  and  as  the  agent  of  one 
of  these  companies  went  to  him  for  information,  he  sold 
to  him  the  southern  half  of  that  town  in  1773. 

This  company  was  called  the  Scots  American  Com- 
pany, and  was  composed  of  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
farmers  of  Renfrewshire.  So  we  have  the  nucleus  of 
one  Scotch  settlement  in  the  town  of  Ryegate.  In 
the  following  year  an  agent  of  another  company,  the 
Farmers'  Company  of  Perth  and  Stirlingshire,  bought 
seven  thousand  acres  in  the  southern  part  of  Barnet. 
As  the  result  of  these  two  purchases,  large  and  flourish- 
ing settlements  of  Scotch  immigrants  were  formed,  and 
in  their  honor  the  county  was  given  the  old  Roman 
name  of  Scotland,  —  Caledonia.  These  settlers  were 
intelligent,  industrious,  patriotic,  honest,  and  religious, 
and  formed  a  valuable  addition  to  the  population  of  this 
part  of  the  state. 

The  northern  part  of  this  county  remained  for  some 
years  the  habitat  of  moose  and  deer.  The  early  settlers 
of  Burke  would  go  on  snowshoes  to  the  north  of  that 
town,  where  the  animals  yarded  in  winter,  and  bring 
back  on  their  shoulders  or  on  rudely  made  hand  sleds  — 
"moose  sleds"  they  called  them  —  the  proceeds  of  the 
hunt,  great  packs  of  hides  and  meat.  The  skins  were 
sometimes  made  to  serve  the  purpose  of  beds  in  the 
earliest  homes. 

Great  quantities  of  "  salts  "  were  made  here  and  mar- 
keted at  St.  Johnsbury  for  three  or  four  dollars  a  hundred 
pounds.  At  length  an  ashery  was  built  in  Burke,  and 
the  proprietor  took  his  potash  to  Portland  through  the 


1 66  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Crawford  Notch  in  the  White  Mountains.  Mails  came 
into  the  county  through  Danville  from  St.  Albans. 
They  were  carried  on  horseback  across  the  country, 
the  carrier  heralding  his  approach  by  means  of  a  tin 
horn,  and  distributing  the  mail  from  his  saddlebags  as 
he  went  along.  This  peripatetic  post  office  was  a  truly 
rural  deliveity.  Our  latest  improvement  in  the  mail 
service  is  nor  such  a  new  thing  after  all. 

Of  course  the  southern  part  of  the  state  had  estab- 
lished routes  before  this.  The  governor  and  council 
established  a  weekly  post  between  Bennington  and 
Albany,  New  York,  as  early  as  1783,  and  the  next  year 
the  legislature  created  five  post  offices,  with  mails  going 
once  a  week  each  way  between  them.  These  were  at 
Bennington,  Rutland,  Windsor,  Brattleboro,  and  New- 
bury. The  rates  of  postage  were  the  same  as  those 
of  the  United  States;  they  depended  upon  how  far 
the  letters  were  carried.  They  ran  as  high  as  twenty- 
five  cents  for  letters  that  had  been  brought  several 
hundred  miles.  Postage  was  paid  by  the  one  who 
received  the  letter,  not  by  the  sender.  The  post  riders 
were  allowed  two  pence  or  three  pence  a  mile  for  travel, 
and  had  in  addition  the  exclusive  right  to  carry  letters 
and  packages  on  their  routes.  When  Vermont  became 
a  state  of  course  her  mail  service  became  a  part  of  the 
government  system. 

Settlers  pushed  up  the  Passumpsic  Valley  from  Cale- 
donia County,  without  roads  save  those  of  their  own 
making,  following  the  trail  which  Rogers's  party  of 
rangers  had  taken  nearly  half  a  century  before  on 
their  return  from  Canada.     Here  and  there  were  found 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812         167 

marks  on  the  trees,  thought  to  have  been  made  by  the 
rangers  ;  at  one  place  was  found  a  coat  of  mail,  and  at 
another  remnants  of  an  old  iron  spider.  By  this  old 
route  settlers  now  came  into  the  county  of  Orleans. 

Four  or  five  settlers  planted  potatoes  at  Barton 
in  1793.  They  found  them  growing  the  next  season 
and  used  them  as  food,  with  lunge  from  Crystal  Lake. 
It  had  been  but  few  years  since  the  Indians  had  pitched 
their  wigwams  here  on  their  favorite  camping  ground 
at  the  outlet  of  the  lake.  Early  inhabitants  saw  their 
numerous  half-decayed  cabins.  An  old  Indian,  Foosah 
by  name,  told  of  killing  twenty-seven  moose  and  many 
beaver  in  this  vicinity  in  the  winter  of  178 3-1 784.  In 
1796  General  Barton,  for  whom  the  town  was  named, 
built  a  sawmill  at  the  foot  of  the  meadows,  but  for 
gristmilling  and  for  groceries  the  settlers  had  to  go  to 
Lyndon  or  St.  Johnsbury.  They  had  no  road  save  the 
spotted  trees  to  guide  them,  and  no  carriage  but  their 
own  strong  legs  and  sinewy  arms  and  backs.  In  the 
spring  of  1809  wolves  became  especially  troublesome 
among  the  sheep.  In  one  year  four  bears  were  killed 
in  John  May's  cornfield  and  the  woods  near  by.  There 
were  still  moose  in  the  woods  eastward,  a  day's  tramp 
toward  the  Connecticut  River. 

From  Barton  settlers  moved  into  Charleston  in  1802. 
Having  settled,  they  found  that  their  best  way  of  com- 
municating with  the  outside  world  lay  through  Burke, 
which  they  could  reach  by  crossing  the  mountain  and 
the  "  ten-mile  woods."  It  was  fortunate  that  these 
settlers  found  the  Clyde  River  stocked  with  trout,  Echo 
Pond  "  our  meat  barrel,"  and  partridges  plenty  in  the 


1 68  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

woods,  else  they  might  have  fared  worse  than  they  did 
in  the  cold  season  of  1813.  Wheat,  rye,  and  barley 
all  failed,  and  the  people  went  to  the  woods  for  leeks 
and  groundnuts  as  well  as  for  game. 

By  way  of  the  Barton  River  early  settlers  in  Cov- 
entry vended  their  salts,  made  by  boiling  down  the  lye 
of  hard-wood  ashes,  to  manufacturers  of  pearlash,  and 
got  in  return  salt,  flour,  and  leather.  In  the  year  of  the 
famine  they  had  to  live  for  days  on  suckers,  the  stream 
having  been  depleted  of  its  trout. 

Parties  from  Danville  and  Peacham  cut  a  road  through 
Irasburg  to  Troy  in  the  fall  of  1807  and  transported 
hundreds  of  tons  of  salts  and  pearlashes  to  Canada.  In 
the  days  of  the  embargo  much  of  this  trade  went  to 
Montreal  through  the  wilderness  in  winter.  In  the 
spring  of  1808  a  great  deal  of  pearlash  was  still  left 
in  the  country,  and  the  Barton  River  was  cleared  out 
so  that  rafts  and  barges  loaded  with  pearlash  could  be 
taken  to  Quebec.  "The  Landing  "  became  the  name 
of  the  place  where  it  was  put  on  the  boats.  The 
channel  of  the  river  being  thus  cleared  and  intercourse 
once  begun,  it  was  easy  to  keep  up  trade  relations 
after  the  war  began,  and  we  have  in  consequence  the 
smuggling  of  the  following  years. 

Lake  Memphremagog  had  been  of  old  a  famous  fish- 
ing ground  among  the  Indians,  and  they  were  loath  to 
leave.  In  its  waters  they  had  taken  salmon  and  mas- 
kinonge,  and  through  the  adjacent  woods  they  had 
hunted  moose,  deer,  bears,  and  smaller  fur-bearers.  It 
is  not  strange  that  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1799  Troy 
received  a  visitation   from   Indians.     A  party  of  men, 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812  169 

squaws,  and  papooses,  under  the  chief  Susap,  came  and 
built  camps  beside  the  river  and  wintered  there  near  the 
settlers.  The  deer  and  moose  were  growing  scarcer, 
and  the  company  were  half  starved  through  the  winter. 
They  made  baskets,  cups,  and  pails  of  birch  bark,  and 
eked  out  a  scanty  living  until  spring ;  then  they  left, 
never  to  return. 

One  of  their  number,  an  old  woman  known  as  Molly, 
gained  a  great  reputation  as  a  doctress  among  the 
whites,  who  suffered  that  winter  from  an  epidemic. 
This  woman  was  familiar  with  the  events  of  Lovewell's 
War,  which  occurred  in  1725  and  at  which  she  said 
her  husband  was  killed.  Some  years  after  her  kindly 
services  to  the  settlers  at  Troy  she  went  to  Guildhall. 
In  1817  she  was  found  dead  on  White  Cap  Mountain, 
in  East  Andover,  Maine,  where  she  had  gone  to  gather 
blueberries.  She  had  survived  her  husband  nearly  a 
century. 

At  Richford  we  hear  that  Indians  hunted  along  the 
Missisquoi  River  and  in  the  mountains  in  winter,  freez- 
ing the  meat  which  they  secured  from  their  slaughtered 
game.  In  the  spring  when  the  ice  broke  up  in  the 
river  and  lake  they  took  their  meat  by  way  of  Cham- 
plain  and  the  Sorel  River  to  Caughnawaga  to  market. 
But  the  coming  of  the  white  settlers  hastened  the  day 
when  the  Indian  must  depart.  These  occasional  trips 
were  but  his  last  farewell  to  the  land  of  his  fathers 
and  the  places  which  soon  would  know  him  no  more. 

Some  Indian  chiefs  in  Canada  applied  to  the  legisla- 
ture in  1798  for  compensation  for  the  lands  which  their 
tribes   had   owned   in   Vermont.     The   claim   embraced 


\yo 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


nearly  the  whole  of  the  present  counties  of  Addison, 
Chittenden,  Franklin,  and  Grand  Isle.  The  legislature 
supported  the  agents  of  the  Indians  during  their  mis- 
sion, and  sent  them  away  with  one  hundred  dollars 
as  a  friendship  token,  but  did  not  solve  the  vexing 
problem  of  how  to  extinguish  with  equity  the  claims  of 
the  prior  inhabitants  to  the  lands  of  which  they  had 
been  dispossessed.  A  later  session  decided  that  the 
Indian  claims  were  extinguished,  if  they  had  ever 
existed,  by  the  treaties  between  France  and  Great 
Britain  in  1763  and  England  and  the  United  States 
in  1783.  A  resolution  to  this  effect  was  sent  to  the 
Indians,  and  although  it  would  be  interesting  to  know 
how  they  interpreted  the  logic  of  this  decision,  it 
appears  to  have  stopped  any  further  claims. 

One  more  incident  will  be  enough  to  finish  the  pic- 
ture of  life  in  these  northern  settlements  between  the 
Revolution  and  the  War  of  18 12.  In  the  spring  of 
1 796  Ephraim  Adams  and  three  other  young  men  from 
Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  purchased  a  thousand  acres 
of  land  in  Knight's  Gore,  now  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Hakersfield.  On  this  land  they  worked  three  summers, 
and  in  the  winter  went  back  to  New  Hampshire  to 
teach  school.  Working  in  this  way,  in  three  seasons 
they  cleared  their  land  and  made  farms  for  themselves, 
having  wheat  to  sell.  We  can  guess  that  they  never 
forgot  the  events  of  those  three  summers,  when  they 
slept  under  the  bark  of  an  elm  for  cover  and  cooked 
their  food  over  an  oven  built  of  stones  and  plastered 
with  mud.  They  finally  bought  a  cow,  and  when  their 
wheat   ripened   sufficiently   to   cut,   they   boiled   it   and 


REVOLUTION    TO    THE    WAR    OF    1812         171 

ate  it  with  milk.  They  made  a  threshing  floor  out  of 
basswood  logs  split  in  halves  and  laid  flat  side  up,  and 
improvised  a  fanning  mill  for  winnowing  their  grain. 
People  came  from  the  lake  to  buy  their  wheat.  From 
the  ashes  which  he  saved  while  clearing  his  land  young 
Adams  secured  cash  for  the  building  materials  of  his 
first  dwelling. 

From  such  instances  we  can  see  that  the  process  of 
settlement  was  much  the  same  as  it  had  been  two  or 
three  decades  earlier  in  the  older  portions  of  the  state. 
But  if  the  process  was  no  less  hard  at  first  a  more 
rapid  development  appears.  Neighbors  were  plentier, 
and  the  older  towns  served  as  markets  for  the  newer. 
Then,  too,  for  this  northern  part  Montreal  and  Quebec 
furnished  markets  and  a  trade  which  led  to  interest- 
ing results  when  national  policy  once  more  became 
uppermost  in  Vermont  history.  But  that  brings  us  to 
the  War  of   18 12. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE    WAR    OF    1812 

Plattsburg  Bay,  Sept.  u,  1814. 
I  could  only  look  at  the  enemy's  galleys  going  off  in  a  shattered 
condition  ;  for  there  was  not  a  mast  in  either  squadron  that  could  stand 
to  make  sail  on,  the  lower  rigging  being  nearly  all  shot  away,  hung  down 
as  though  it  had  just  been  placed  over  the  mast  heads.  The  Saratoga 
had  55  round  shot  in  her  hull ;  the  Confiance  one  hundred  and  five. 
The  enemy's  shot  passed  principally  just  over  our  heads,  as  there  was 
not  20  whole  hammocks  in  the  nettings  at  the  close  of  the  action ; 
which  lasted,  without  intermission,  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes.  — t 
Extract  from  Macdonough's  Report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Military  Events  of  the  War 

The  above  extract  makes  it  apparent  that  a  naval 
engagement  of  no  mean  importance  had  taken  place  on 
Lake  Champlain  in  early  September  of  the  year  18 14. 
What  was  it  all  about  ? 

While  our  Vermont  settlers  had  been  clearing  land, 
selling  ashes,  raising  wheat,  building  mills,  opening  quar- 
ries, establishing  iron  works,  founding  schools,  erecting 
churches,  trading  with  Canada,  and  doing  a  lot  of  peace- 
able things  which  were  good  for  them  and  the  state  as 
a  whole,  the  national  government  had  begun  a  war  with 
England  which  involved  the  settlements  along  the  Cana- 
dian border  and  the  Champlain  Valley,  interfered  with 
the  trade  to  Canada,  and  gave  rise  to  a  great  naval  bat- 
tle. That  battle  was  what  the  American  commander  was 
reporting  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.    We  shall  learn 

more  about  it  presently. 

172 


THE    WAR    OF    1S12 


1/3 


So  far  as  Vermont  was  concerned  the  theater  of  this 
war  was  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  Revolution,  or 
to  go  back  still  farther,  that  of  the  French  and  Indian 
wars.  Already  the  Americans  had  attempted  an  inva- 
sion of  Canada.  Now  the  British  were  going  to  operate 
from  Canada  and  invade  the  states. 

In  this  emergency  the  distress  of  the  northern  border 
can  be  well  imagined.  It  was  settled  enough  to  invite 
attack,  but  not  enough  to  repel  it.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
the  thinly  populated  towns  were  in  a  quiver  of  excitement. 
The  almost  unbroken  wilderness  stretching  back  from  the 
boundary  was  peopled  with  imaginary  terrors.  The  entire 
length  of  the  Champlain  Valley  was  exposed  to  border 
warfare;  and  although  the  north  of  the  state  was  farther 
from  the  beaten  line  of  invasion,  it  was  penetrated  by  the 
Memphremagog  and  its  tributaries  and  a  few  highways 
of  traffic  to  the  neighborhood  of  many  settlements. 

Rumors  of  projected  Indian  raids  came  floating 
through  the  woods.  Many  people  sought  safety  in  flight 
and  abandoned  their  homes  until  more  peaceful  times. 
Cattle  were  driven  off,  portable  property  removed,  and 
cultivated  farms  left  untilled.  The  more  courageous 
remained  at  home,  but  stockades  were  built,  and  parties 
of  volunteers  were  stationed  at  various  points  along  the 
border.  The  main  roads  into  Canada  were  at  Troy, 
Derby  Line,  and  Canaan.  Guards  were  maintained  at 
these  places.  At  Derby  Center  barracks  were  built 
between  the  graveyard  and  the  pond,  with  a  guard- 
house on  the  hill  near  by.  A  company  of  men  was 
raised  from  Derby,  Holland,  and  Morgan,  and  spies  were 
sent  into  Canada.     Rumors  that  an  invasion  was  to  be 


1 74  HISTORY   OF    VERMONT 

made  through  Stanstead  gave  way  to  the  more  reason- 
able news  that  it  was  to  be  through  the  Champlain  Valley. 
The  Derby  company  and  other  similar  ones  throughout 
the  state  were  then  hurried  off  to  Plattsburg. 

The  United  States  entered  this  war  with  more^enthusi- 
asm  than  prudence.  The  fortunes  of  battle  were  against 
her  at  the  start.  Her  magnificent  foreign  commerce 
instead  of  being  benefited  by  war  was  destroyed  by  it. 
By  the  close  of  the  year  18 14  there  was  scarcely  an 
unarmed  vessel  on  the  ocean  which  dared  carry  the  stars 
and  stripes.  Our  national  capital  was  taken  by  Brit- 
ish troops.  In  Europe,  where  the  English  were  at  the 
same  time  fighting  Napoleon,  that  conqueror  of  nations 
was  forced  back  step  by  step  until  he  was  forced  off  his 
throne.  Then  England  sent  her  veterans  to  Canada.  A 
force  of  eighteen  thousand  men  began  to  move  up  Lake 
Champlain  toward  Plattsburg. 

Meantime  there  was  a  buzz  of  preparation  in  the 
Champlain  Valley.  During  non-intercourse  and  the  war 
business  boomed  at  Vergennes,  where  the  great  falls  in 
the  river  lent  water  power  to  mills  and  forges.  It  was 
here  that  Macdonough's  fleet  was  fitted  out.  Here  also 
were  cast  supplies  for  the  war  —  no  less  than  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  tons  of  shot.  Such  business 
employed  furnaces  and  forges  and  kept  rolling  mill 
and  wire  factory  humming.  With  magical  rapidity  the 
American  fleet  was  built.  The  flagship  Saratoga  was 
launched  the  fortieth  day  after  the  great  oak  which  went 
into  her  keel  had  fallen  from  its  stump  in  the  forest. 

No  action  worthy  of  note  occurred  on  the  lake  until 
June,    1 8 13.      On   the   second   day   of   that  month  two 


THE    WAR   OF    1812 


175 


sloops,  the  Growler  and  the  Eagle,  started  from  Platts- 
burg  in  pursuit  of  a  couple  of  British  gunboats  which 
had  put  in  a  tantalizing  appearance.  The  next  morn- 
ing, while  chasing  the  boats  near  the  Canadian  line,  the 
sloops  got  cooped  up  in  the  narrow  channel  of  the  Sorel 
River,  into  which  the  boats  had  fled,  within  sight  of  the 
fort  on  Isle-aux-Noix.  Land  forces  came  up  both  sides 
of  the  river  to  help  the  galleys.  Wind  and  current  were 
dead  against  the  sloops,  and  after  a  plucky  fight  of  three 
hours  they  surrendered.  Two  more  vessels  were  thus 
added  to  the  enemy's  fleet. 

On  the  30th  of  July  a  British  detachment  landed  at 
Plattsburg  and  destroyed  the  American  barracks.  The 
public  stores  had  been  removed  to  Burlington,  and  the 
enemy  after  leaving  Plattsburg  proceeded  thither  and 
fired  a  few  shots  into  the  town.  The  cannon  on  the 
shore  began  presently  to  play  on  them  and  they  forthwith 
retired,  leaving  the  town  unharmed. 

For  a  time  the  northern  army  was  located  at  Burling- 
ton, under  General  Hampton.  On  the  25th  of  Septem- 
ber Colonel  Clark  was  detached  with  one  hundred  and 
two  men  and  ordered  to  attack  a  small  British  force  at 
St.  Armand  on  Missisquoi  Bay.  He  found  the  enemy  un- 
prepared. After  a  ten-minute  fight  the  entire  English 
force  surrendered,  and  the  one  hundred  and  two  Ameri- 
cans marched  one  hundred  and  one  prisoners  back  to  Bur- 
lington. On  the  19th  of  December  Lieutenant  Macdon- 
ough  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Otter  Creek  with  his 
flotilla,  and  the  northern  campaign  ended  for  that  season. 

In  the  following  spring  thirteen  English  galleys,  three 
sloops,  and  a  brig  passed  up  the  lake  and  stopped  at  the 


i;6  HISTORY   OF   VERMONT 

mouth  of  the  Otter  Creek.  They  opened  a  spirited  fire 
on  the  battery  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  intending  to 
carry  it,  to  force  their  way  up  the  river,  and  to  destroy 
the  American  shipping  at  Vergennes  whiclrwas  being 
made  ready  for  service.  But  the  garrison  at  the  battery, 
aided  by  the  Vermont  militia,  repelled  the  attack  and 
the  enemy  turned  again  northward.  The  American  ship- 
ping saved  that  day  from  destruction  proved  its  worth 
four  months  later  at  the  battle  of  Plattsburg  Bay. 

As  the  summer  months  passed  it  became  evident 
that  a  land  battle  would  be  fought  on  the  New  York 
side  of  the  lake.  The  northern  army  had  been  ordered 
to  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  the  situation  grew  embar- 
rassing to  the  one  brigade  at  Plattsburg.  Prevost  had 
concentrated  at  the  head  of  the  lake  a  large  army  of 
veterans  for  this  invasion  of  New  York.  A  strenuous 
cry  for  help  was  made  to  the  neighboring  states. 

Acting  officially  for  the  state  of  Vermont,  Governor 
Martin  Chittenden,  son  of  the  old  governor,  Thomas 
Chittenden,  did  not  consider  himself  authorized  to  order 
the  militia  into  service  outside  the  state.  The  gover- 
nor was  a  Federalist.  His  Federalism,  however,  did  not 
prevent  him  from  issuing  a  call  for  volunteers.  The 
response  was  a  ready  one.  By  the  nth  of  September, 
the  day  when  the  great  fight  occurred  in  Plattsburg  Bay, 
twenty-five  hundred  men  from  the  Green  Mountain  State 
had  reported  at  Plattsburg  ready  for  service. 

Early  in  the  morning  on  that  same  day  the  British 
fleet  weighed  anchor  at  Isle  La  Motte  and  sailed  south 
around  Cumberland  Head,  where  Macdonough's  vessels 
lay  anchored  in  a  line  stretching  thence  to  Crab  Island 


THE   WAR   OF    1S12 


177 


Shoal.  On  shore  an  American  army  of  less  than  five 
thousand  men  stood  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Saranac 
River  waiting  for  the  first  move  of  the  British  force  of 
three  times  their  number  which  was  drawn  up  on  the 
opposite  side. 

Between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
naval   fight   began.      A  shot  from  the  Linnet  struck  a 


An  Old  Print  of  the  Battle  of  Plattsburg 


hencoop  on  the  Saratoga  and  released  a  gamecock.  He 
hopped  up  on  a  gun  slide  and  crowed  ;  and  while  the 
men  laughed  and  cheered  at  the  omen,  Macdonough, 
having  first  kneeled  in  prayer  on  the  deck  of  his  ship, 
fired  the  first  shot  from  one  of  the  long  guns.  All  the 
vessels  were  presently  engaged. 

A  double-shotted  broadside  from  the  British  flagship 
struck  the  Saratoga  squarely  and  sent  half  of  her  men 


1 78  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

sprawling  on  the  dock.  Forty  were  killed  or  wounded; 
the  rest  picked  themselves  up  and  sprang  again  to  the 
guns.  Macdonough  was  working  like  a  common  sailor. 
As  he  stooped  to  sight  his  favorite  gun  a  shot  from  the 
enemy  cut  in  two  the  spanker  boom  and  it  came  crash- 
ing down  on  his  head,  knocking  him  senseless.  Within 
three  minutes  he  was  again  at  the  gun.  Then  another 
shot  came,  tore  off  a  gunner's  head,  and  sent  it  into 
Macdonough's  face  with  enough  force  to  knock  him  to 
the  other  side  of  the  deck.  Such  was  the  fashion  of 
the  fight.  For  more  than  two  hours  it  went  on,  while 
all  along  the  lake  shore  and  through  the  valley  and  on 
the  uprising  hills  there  watched  or  listened  to  the  rever- 
berating thunder  of  the  guns  the  people  to  whom  the 
result  meant  safety  or  flight. 

On  the  brow  of  one  hill  on  an  island  opposite  Platts- 
burg  stood  a  boy  of  some  thirteen  years  looking  down 
at  the  fight  in  the  bay  below  him.  His  father  was  in 
the  American  army.  Long  before  sunrise  that  morn- 
ing he  had  the  horses  harnessed,  and  when  the  tops  of 
the  British  masts  appeared,  coming  south  from  Isle 
La  Motte,  he  drove  to  the  hill,  hitched  the  horses  to 
a  tree,  and  found  a  spot  where  he  could  overlook  the 
whole  scene.  After  the  British  hauled  down  their  colors 
he  saw  a  boat  with  two  or  three  men  in  it  putting  out 
from  the  shore  close  by.  He  wanted  to  see  the  British 
ships,  so  he  ran  down  to  the  shore,  called  to  the  men 
in  the  boat,  and  together  they  rowed  out  to  the  scene 
of  battle. 

He  always  remembered  that  scene.  In  November, 
1 90 1,  although  over  one  hundred  years  old,  he  retold 


THE    WAR    OF    1812  1 79 

the  story  as  vividly  as  though  it  had  happened  but 
the  day  before.1  He  described  the  ship  which  he  visited 
as  being  built  of  oak  and  planked  with  white-oak  planks 
six  inches  thick.  That  planking  was  stuck  solid  full  of 
balls.     He  says: 

The  l'iggin'  was  cut  all  to  pieces.  There  wasn't  any  of  it  left. 
Our  folks  used  chain  shot.  That  is,  they  bored  holes  in  the  can- 
non balls  and  took  two  balls  and  fastened  them  together  with  a  big 
chain.  They  cut  the  shrouds  and  everything  right  off.  The  decks 
was  the  most  awful  sight  I  ever  saw.      It  was  —  it  was  awful. 

Blood,  blood  was  everywhere  !  The  decks  was  covered  with 
arms  and  legs  and  heads,  and  pieces  of  hands  and  bodies  all  torn 
to  pieces!  I  never  see  anything  in  this  world  like  it!  Seemed 
as  if  everybody  had  been  killed. 

It  seemed  that  way  to  others  also.  A  British  mid- 
shipman of  the  Confiance  wrote  to  his  brother  as  follows : 

Our  masts,  yards  and  sails  were  so  shattered  that  one  looked 
like  so  many  bunches  of  matches,  and  the  other  like  a  bundle  of 
rags.  The  havoc  on  both  sides  is  dreadful.  I  don't  think  there 
are  more  than  five  of  our  men,  out  of  three  hundred,  but  what  are 
killed  or  wounded.  Never  was  shower  of  hail  so  thick  as  the  shot 
whistling  about  our  ears.  Were  you  to  see  my  jacket,  waistcoat 
and  trousers,  you  would  be  astonished  how  I  escaped  as  I  did,  for 
they  were  literally  torn  all  to  rags  with  shot  and  splinters  ;  the 
upper  part  of  my  hat  was  also  shot  away.  There  is  one  of  our 
marines  who  was  in  the  Trafalgar  action  with  Lord  Nelson,  who 
says  it  was  a  mere  flea-bite  compared  with  this. 

During  the  naval  action  something  had  been  doing 
on   shore.      The   opening   volley   of  the    Confiance  had 

1  This  account  of  the  battle  may  be  found  in  The  Outlook,  Nov. 
2,  1 901,  where  an  interview  with  the  survivor,  Mr.  Benajah  Phelps,  was 
reported. 


180  HISTORY   OF   VERMONT 

been  the  signal  for  the  land  forces  to  begin.  At  the 
bridges  and  the  fords  of  the  river  the  brunt  of  the  fight- 
ing fell.  The  father  of  the  boy  who  watched  the  fight 
from  South  Island  was  an  orderly  sergeant  and  was  sent 
up  the  river  with  his  company  to  guard  a  bridge  and 
a  ford.  So  of  course  the  lad  found  out  afterward  how 
it  was  done. 

They  took  every  single  plank  off  the  bridge.  Of  course  the 
British  column  had  to  go  higher  up  stream  then  to  the  ford.  That 
was  about  three  miles  up  the  Au  Sable.1  Father's  company 
guarded  the  ford  all  day.  The  woods  was  thick  and  the  big  trees 
and  bushes  came  right  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and  father's  men 
hid  in  them.  When  the  British  stepped  into  the  water  to  cross, 
they  shot  them  right  down.  Some  of  them  dropped  in  the  stream 
and  was  carried  away  by  the  current.  Not  one  of  our  men  was 
killed.  .  .  .  The  British  tried  hard  to  get  across  the  river  in 
Plattsburg  but  they  could  n't.  Why,  you  see,  all  the  Vermont 
milishy  was  there!     It  was  impossible  to  git  across  that  river. 

Still  another  bridge  was  guarded  by  our  Derby  com- 
pany. When  the  British  started  up  the  Saranac  to  cross, 
the  captain  of  this  company  was  ordered  to  follow  on 
the  south  side  and  destroy  the  bridge.  He  managed  to 
keep  a  little  ahead  of  the  British  and  reached  the  bridge 
first.  Then  he  and  his  men  made  a  dash  for  the  bridge, 
picked  up  the  planks,  and  walked  to  the  shore  on  the 
stringers,  carrying  the  planks.  Before  they  had  finished, 
the  British  came  up  and  opened  fire.  Bullets  struck  the 
planks  as  the  men  carried  them  off,  and  some  of  the 
men  were  killed.  But  the  men  finished  the  work,  and 
then  shot  the  British  off  into  the  water  when  they  tried 
to  cross  on  the  stringers. 

1  It  must  have  been  the  Saranac  instead  of  the  Au  Sable. 


THE    WAR   OF    1812  l8l 

As  soon  as  news  came  of  the  surrender  of  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  the  army  began  preparations  to  retreat.  They 
retreated  so  precipitately  that  provisions,  ammunition, 
military  stores,  and  wounded  men  were  left  behind. 
The  total  British  loss  has  never  been  correctly  ascer- 
tained ;  the  Americans  lost  not  more  than  150  men. 
Young  Macdonough's  fleet  comprised  14  vessels  of  2244 
tons,  882  men,  86  guns.  The  British  fleet  was  some- 
what superior  in  equipment,  —  16  vessels  of  2404  tons, 
987  men,  and  a  total  of  92  guns.  On  the  approach 
of  winter  the  victorious  fleet  was  taken  to  Fiddler's 
Elbow,  near  Whitehall ;  there  it  lies  to-day  beneath 
the  waves. 

Macdonough  was  presented  with  a  tract  of  land  on 
Cumberland  Head,  overlooking  the  scene  of  his  victory, 
as  an  expression  of  the  appreciation  of  his  services  on 
this  occasion.  You  will  find  this  opinion  expressed 
in  Theodore  Roosevelt's  history  of  the  Naval  War  of 
18 12:  "Macdonough  in  this  battle  won  a  higher  fame 
than  any  other  commander  of  the  war,  American  or 
British.  .  .  .  Down  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  he 
is  the  greatest  figure  in  our  naval  history."  He  served 
his  country  later  on  foreign  seas  until  his  health  gave 
way,  and  died  at  sea  in  1825  on  board  a  trading  brig 
which  had  been  sent  by  the  government  to  bring 
him  home. 

The  Green  Mountain  men,  who  had  rallied  to  the  help 
of  the  frontier  before  the  government  at  Washington 
had  even  asked  their  aid,  received  thanks  from  the 
commander  at  Plattsburg  and  thanks  from  the  general 
government    for  their    services.     And    here,  so  far  as 


[82  HIS  TORY    OF    VERMONT 

its  military  features  go,  the  War  of  1812  ends  for  Ver- 
mont. The  national  policy  which  led  to  this  war  pro- 
duced some  results,  however,  that  were  not  strictly  of 
a  military  nature,  and  it  will  be  of  interest  to  notice 
what  they  were. 

The  Smugglers  of  Embargo  Days 

It  is  one  of  the  ideas  which  statesmen  have  that  if 
you  are  going  to  war  with  a  nation  you  ought  not  to 
trade  with  its  people  at  the  same  time.  It  violates  the 
principle  of  consistency,  and  this  is  very  important  in 
politics.  But  it  sometimes  happens  that  those  who  do 
the  trading  think  differently  from  the  politicians,  and 
then  one  finds  that  secret  or  clandestine  trading  goes 
on,  which  is  commonly  called  smuggling.  This  was  what 
happened  in  the  seaport  towns  of  the  Atlantic  colonies 
before  the  Revolution,  and  this  was  what  happened  along 
the  northern  borders  of  Vermont  before  and  during  the 
War  of  1 81 2. 

The  policy  of  withholding  trade  from  Great  Britain 
was  not  intended  merely  to  prevent  any  such  trade 
from  growing  up  in  the  future,  but  it  was  designed  to 
cut  off  the  already  existing  trade.  We  have  already 
seen  what  a  blessing  it  was  to  the  settlers  of  northern 
Vermont  to  have  the  markets  of  Canada  open  to  them. 
The  restrictive  policy,  therefore,  bore  upon  them  with 
corresponding  heaviness. 

The  first  embargo  act,  which  Congress  passed  in 
December,  1807,  interfered  with  seaboard  commerce. 
Since  Vermont  had  no  seaports  it  did  not  injure  her; 


THE    WAR    OF    1812  183 

in  fact  it  had  the  reverse  tendency,  for  it  turned  more 
people  toward  Canada  as  a  market  for  their  timber, 
potash,  and  pearlash.  But  when  this  first  embargo  was 
supplemented  by  the  land  embargo  of  March,  1808, 
the  shoe  began  to  pinch.  What  made  it  worse,  steam 
navigation  was  just  opening  on  Lake  Champlain,  and 
people  were  beginning  to  see  that  good  profits  could 
be  made  from  this  lake  trade. 

To  the  genuine  distress  of  the  people  at  this  land 
embargo  you  must  now  add  another  element,  the  zeal 
of  the  federal  politicians.  They  seized  this  opportunity 
to  excite  great  dissatisfaction  with  the  national  govern- 
ment, and  they  alarmed  its  supporters  in  this  state.  The 
very  day  that  the  embargo  law  was  received  by  the  col- 
lector of  the  Vermont  district  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  execute 
that  law  without  a  military  force. 

President  Jefferson's  embargo  policy  did  not  meet 
with  uniform  approval  or  success.  In  fact  it  was  every- 
where systematically  evaded.  Jefferson  had  made  a  brief 
visit  to  Vermont  in  1791,  and  if  we  may  judge  by  the 
letter  he  wrote  home  he  did  not  enjoy  himself.  Lake 
Champlain  was  muddy;  there  were  not  enough  fish;  the 
wind  blew  in  his  face;  the  weather  was  sultry;  he  under- 
stood that  there  was  as  much  fever  and  ague  and  bilious 
complaint  on  Lake  Champlain  as  in  the  swamps  of  Caro- 
lina; the  land  was  locked  up  in  ice  and  snow  for  six 
months.  So  it  is  probable  that  the  President's  personal 
recollections,  added  to  the  accounts  which  he  heard  of 
the  great  trade  which  was  springing  up  with  Canada, 
gave  him  a  somewhat  jaundiced  view  of  the  situation. 


184  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

He  forthwith  issued  a  proclamation  the  preamble  of 
which  was  as  follows: 

BY    THE    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES 

A   PROCLAMATION 

Whereas  information  has  been  received  that  sundry  persons 
are  combined  or  combining  and  confederating  together  on  Lake 
Champlain  and  the  country  thereto  adjacent  for  the  purposes  of 
forming  insurrections  against  the  authority  of  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  for  opposing  the  same  and  obstructing  their  execu- 
tion ;  and  that  such  combinations  are  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed 
by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings,  or  by  the  powers 
vested  in  the  Marshals,  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States: 

Therefore  all  such  persons  were  ordered  to  disperse 
and  military  officers  were  directed  to  aid  in  subduing 
this  trouble.  The  collector's  fears  may  have  been  well 
grounded,  but  such  a  proclamation  only  served  to  make 
the  situation  worse. 

When  the  proclamation,  which  was  published  in  full 
in  Spooners  Vermont  Journal  May  9,  1808,  met  the 
startled  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  state  it  roused 
a  variety  of  emotions.  But  one  thing  was  sure,  they 
did  not  relish  being  advertised  as  insurrectionists. 
Accordingly  in  the  following  month  the  same  paper 
had  the  pleasure  of  printing  the  following  memorial, 
with  a  petition  that  the  land  embargo  be  discontinued. 
It  is  worth  quoting  because  it  throws  light  on  the  situ- 
ation and  reflects  the  general  indignation  at  Jefferson's 
proclamation,  besides  stating  pretty  fairly  the  position 
of  the  petitioners.  From  this  statement  it  would  appear 
that  Vermont  in  1808  would  not  have  been  wholly 
averse  to  a  free-trade  policy. 


THE    WAR   OF   1812  185 

NO  REBELS  IN  VERMONT 

TO  THOMAS   JEFFERSON,    ESQ., 

President  of  the  United  States 

A   MEMORIAL 

of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  town  of  St.  Albans. 

.  .  .  After  an  impartial  investigation  of  the  subject,  so  far 
as  they  are  capable,  your  Memorialists  cannot  conceive  how  the 
object  of  the  general  Embargo,  which  was  the  protection  of  our 
"  vessels,  our  seamen  and  merchandise  on  the  high  seas,"  can  be 
any  way  connected  with  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  March  12  ; 
or  how  our  "  vessels,  our  seamen  and  our  merchandise  on  the  high 
seas  "  can  be  exposed  to  any  dangers  from  the  belligerent  powers 
of  Europe,  in  consequence  of  a  commercial  intercourse,  either  by 
land  or  water,  between  the  citizens  of  Vermont  and  Lower  Canada, 
and  other  places  in  like  situations  ;  nor  can  they  be  taught,  that  a 
law  which  forbids  the  exchange  of  such  commodities  as  they  do 
not  want,  for  the  conveniences  and  necessaries  of  life,  and  espe- 
cially for  the  sinews  of  war,  the  gold  and  silver  of  that  nation, 
whose  injury  it  seems,  is  contemplated  by  such  law,  can  in  any 
possible  degree,  tend  to  the  welfare  of  the  Union. 

The  militia  in  the  meantime  was  ordered  out  and 
stationed  at  Windmill  Point  to  stop  some  rafts  bound 
to  Canada.  The  rafts,  favored  by  darkness  and  wind, 
escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  militia  and  made  their  way 
through  to  the  forbidden  land.  This  incident  served  to 
throw  suspicion  on  the  efficiency  of  the  Franklin  County 
militia,  and  they  were  superseded  by  United  States 
troops.  The  whole  course  of  affairs  served  to  irritate 
the  people,  alienate  a  portion  of  them  in  this  section  of 
the  state  from  the  support  of  the  national  policy,  and 
to  cheer  the  smugglers  in  their  traffic,  while  the  resort 
to  force  stimulated  them  to  more  desperate  resistance. 


[86  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Lake  Champlain  offered  an  unparalleled  field  for 
smuggling  operations.  An  active  contraband  trade  cen- 
tered at  St.  Albans.  The  northern  part  of  the  lake, 
with  its  many  little  shady  nooks,  secluded  bays,  wooded 
shores,  and  uninhabited  spots,  gave  the  illicit  traders 
the  assistance  of  nature  and  a  most  convenient  high- 
way. In  these  hidden  corners  they  could  lie  secreted 
by  day  and  run  their  devious  ways  by  night. 

Of  all  the  boats  engaged  in  the  smuggling  business  on 
Lake  Champlain  the  Black  Snake  was  the  most  famous. 
She  had  been  built  originally  to  run  as  a  ferryboat 
between  Charlotte,  Vermont,  and  Essex,  New  York. 
But  her  construction  made  her  an  excellent  boat  for  the 
smugglers.  She  was  forty  feet  long,  fourteen  feet  wide, 
four  and  one  half  feet  deep,  built  with  straight  high 
sides,  and  could  carry  one  hundred  barrels  of  potash  at 
a  load.  With  freight  running  from  five  to  six  dollars 
a  barrel,  you  can  easily  see  why  smuggling  paid.  The 
vessel  had  a  sharp  bow,  a  square  stern,  a  forecastle  but 
no  cabin,  carried  seven  oars  on  a  side,  and  was  manned 
by  a  powerful  and  desperate  crew.  She  was  unpainted, 
but  had  been  smeared  over  with  tar,  and  probably  took 
her  name  from  the  color. 

For  months  this  boat  plied  her  illegal  traffic  and  either 
overawed  or  eluded  the  government  officers.  She  was  at 
length  taken  by  the  revenue  cutter  The  Fly,  and  after  a 
sharp  fight  all  but  two  of  the  crew  captured.  These  were 
taken  later.  The  boat  was  caught  up  the  Winooski  River, 
whither  she  had  gone  for  a  cargo.  Dean,  one  of  the 
captured  crew,  was  executed,  and  the  rest  were  sent  to 
the  state  prison,  which  had  been  built  a  few  years  before. 


THE    WAR    OF    1812  1 87 

When  the  war  opened  and  the  British  army  entered 
Canada  the  incentives  to  trade  greatly  increased.  The 
presence  of  this  large  body  of  transients  afforded  a  tem- 
porary market  for  provisions  such  as  beef,  flour,  and 
other  products  of  the  farm,  which  created  an  itching 
palm  in  many  a  thrifty  farmer's  hand  and  led  to  contra- 
band trade  by  land.  There  was  an  opportunity  to  lay 
the  foundation  of  handsome  fortunes,  and  not  a  few 
supplies  from  settlers  in  Orleans,  Caledonia,  Franklin, 
and  other  near-by  counties  found  their  way  across  the 
line.     High  prices  were  paid  at  Stanstead. 

Of  course  attempts  were  made  to  intercept  the  trade. 
Officers  were  picketed  at  every  road  leading  into  Canada, 
and  encounters  with  the  smugglers  were  not  infrequent. 
The  latter  then  adopted  the  practice  of  going  frequently 
in  sufficiently  large  numbers  to  overawe  or  override  the 
officers  of  the  law.  The  northern  trade,  however,  was 
seriously  interfered  with  when  military  companies  were 
raised  for  the  war.  The  captain  of  the  Derby  company 
which  has  already  been  mentioned  had  orders  to  patrol 
a  line  extending  from  Essex  County  to  Lake  Memphre- 
magog.  He  picketed  every  road  and  stopped  this  illicit 
trade  for  a  time.  This  not  unnaturally  roused  the  antip- 
athy of  our  neighbors  across  the  border,  for  they  were 
as  anxious  to  buy  as  the  settlers  were  to  sell. 

As  soon  as  the  invasion  of  the  Champlain  Valley 
demanded  the  presence  of  the  volunteers  at  Plattsburg 
the  Canadians  had  a  chance  to  vent  their  spite.  The 
absence  of  the  local  troops  left  the  Derby  frontier 
unprotected  ;  and  one  dark  night  a  few  Canadians  stole 
across  the  line  from  Stanstead,  set  fire  to  the  barracks, 


[88  HISTORY   OF   VERMONT 

guardhouse,  and  officers'  quarters,  and  made  good  their 
escape  before  the  town  was  roused.  But  from  that 
time  until  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  not  prudent  for 
a  Canadian  to  be  seen  on  the  streets  of  Derby  after 
nightfall  unless  he  was  ready  for  a  coat  of  tar  and 
feathers. 

As  the  army's  demand  for  beef  increased  encounters 
by  land  became  more  frequent.  Through  the  northern 
woods,  the  back  pastures,  and  in  unfrequented  places 
along  the  main  roads  smugglers  took  droves  of  cattle 
for  the  use  of  the  British  army.  Eastward  through 
the  woods  to  the  Connecticut  River  this  scattered  but 
exciting  trade  went  on. 

In  the  year  1813a  young  lad  from  Albany  was  out 
one  day  in  the  timber,  when  he  espied  a  large  drove  of 
cattle  on  what  was  known  as  Corey's  smuggling  road. 
This  was  a  passage  which  the  smugglers  had  cut  in 
the  woods,  and  it  ran  from  Craftsbury  through  Albany, 
under  the  side  of  the  mountain  toward  Lowell,  coming 
out  into  the  old  Hazen  road  at  a  point  about  west  of 
where  Albany  Center  now  stands.  What  the  boy  saw  was 
a  drove  of  beef  on  its  way  to  feed  the  British  army. 

Tingling  with  excitement,  the  lad  rushed  to  Irasburg, 
where  the  United  States  officer  of  customs  was  sta- 
tioned. Major  Enos,  the  officer,  heard  his  story,  and 
taking  the  boy  up  behind  him  on  his  horse,  started  in 
hot  haste  for  Craftsbury,  where  he  raised  a  posse  of 
determined  men.  They  took  the  old  Hazen  road  and 
followed  the  smugglers  toward  Lowell.  Cattle  not  being 
rapid  travelers,  the  drovers  were  overtaken  at  Curtis's 
Tavern  near  Lowell  Corners,  baiting  their  live  stock. 


THE   WAR   OF    1812  189 

The  smugglers  determined  to  rely  on  the  sympathy 
of  the  Lowell  people  and  fight.  Posting  two  men  at  the 
bars  of  the  inclosure  where  the  cattle  were  quietly 
feeding,  they  threatened  to  shoot  the  first  man  who 
attempted  to  let  them  out.  The  major,  on  reviewing  his 
forces,  found  that  neither  he  nor  the  entire  posse  had 
brought  so  much  as  a  horse  pistol  with  them.  But  they 
had  what  was  better,  good  courage.  Two  of  his  men, 
armed  with  stout  canes,  marched  up  to  the  guardians 
of  the  bars  and  informed  them  that  the  first  man  who 
fired  a  shot  would  be  laid  dead.  Then  a  third  man  coolly 
took  the  bars  out  one  by  one  and  laid  them  aside.  The 
entire  drove  of  cattle  passed  out  and  were  headed  back 
over  the  mountain  without  a  shot  being  fired. 

The  smugglers  tried  to  rally  enough  men  to  retake 
the  cattle,  but  were  not  able  to  do  so.  The  cattle,  one 
hundred  and  ten  in  number,  were  taken  to  Craftsbury 
common  that  night  and  guarded  by  citizens  till  morn- 
ing. Then  they  were  started  for  Burlington  for  the 
use  of  the  American  army.  The  smugglers  followed 
after,  still  determined  to  retake  their  property.  Several 
skirmishes  occurred  on  the  road,  the  last  one  of  which, 
at  Underhill,  drew  some  blood.  But  the  cattle  reached 
their  destination  safely. 

In  March,  1 8 14,  the  customs  officers  at  Barton  received 
word  that  a  party  of  smugglers  had  crossed  the  line  and 
were  coming  through  that  town.  Securing  assistance, 
the  officers  undertook  to  stop  the  party  at  a  hill  near 
the  present  village  of  Barton  Landing.  After  a  smart 
fight  the  smugglers  forced  their  way  through.  They 
carried  cloth,  steel  wire,  and  other  things  merchantable 


1<)0 


HISTORY    OF    VERMON1 


among  settlers.  Part  of  the  goods  they  hid;  part  was 
taken  by  the  officers.  Two  of  the  men  were  made  pris- 
oners, but  the  next  clay  they  escaped.  In  August  of  the 
same  year  a  drove  of  cattle  was  seized  in  this  town  by 
the  officers,  but  a  rescue  party  came  from  Canada  to 
retake  them. 

Plenty  of  similar  incidents  took  place  elsewhere  all 
along  the  border.  Franklin  County  was  the  scene  of 
many  skirmishes.  The  smugglers  frequently  traveled 
by  night,  and  went  in  such  large  companies  that  it  was 
dangerous  business  for  the  officers  to  try  to  intercept 
them.  The  frequency  of  these  occurrences  shows  how 
strong  was  the  motive  to  trade.  To  the  settlers  it  meant 
the  possibility  of  getting  a  little  hard  cash,  which  was 
too  rarely  seen  even  in  the  best  of  times.  The  pres- 
ence of  large  numbers  of  British  troops  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  state  created  a  temporary  market  for  cattle  at 
the  farmers'  doors  ;  and  a  man  could  reason  that  he 
had  a  right  to  sell  his  stock  in  his  own  dooryard  to 
any  purchaser  without  asking  embarrassing  questions 
about  destination. 

The  men  who  bought  the  cattle  and  drove  them 
across  the  border  clearly  defied  the  laws  of  the  land  ; 
but  they  reaped  an  additional  profit,  and  there  are  men 
in  nearly  every  community  who  will  take  such  risks.  In 
Irasburg  an  association  of  smugglers  was  formed,  and 
was  not  broken  up  until  an  association  of  anti-smugglers 
was  formed  in  KS14  to  defeat  it.  This  company  bor- 
rowed money  to  conduct  its  business  of  a  man  in  a 
near-by  town,  and  gave  him  a  joint  and  several  note  as 
security.     The  taking  and  retaking  of  contraband  goods 


THE    WAR    OF    1812  19 1 

furnished  the  two  associations  considerable  activity  dur- 
ing the  war.  Such  times  were  conducive  to  the  erection 
of  jails  and  courthouses  ;  and  the  former  were  said  at 
times  to  furnish  insufficient  accommodations  for  all  who 
were  qualified  to  lodge  in  them. 

We  must  remember  that  the  settlements  were  more 
or  less  broken  up,  the  times  productive  of  lawlessness, 
and  not  a  few  of  the  best  men  away  fighting  for  the 
American  cause.  We  must  remember,  too,  that  party 
excitement  ran  high  in  this  country  at  the  time,  and 
that  New  England  especially  had  been  opposed  to  the 
embargo,  opposed  to  the  war,  opposed  to  the  adminis- 
tration. Vermont's  interests  were  essentially  those  of 
Federalist  New  England.  She  had  elected  a  Federalist, 
Martin  Chittenden,  for  governor.  Communities  were 
split  up  into  factions  and  party  spirit  fairly  boiled.  So, 
while  Vermont  troops  were  not  backward  to  repel  inva- 
sion, many  speculative  men  were  not  backward  to  make 
a  dollar  out  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy. 

In  this  Vermont  was  not  alone.  It  was  said  by  the 
British  themselves  that  two  thirds  of  their  army  in 
Canada  was  living  on  beef  supplied  by  American  con- 
tractors. The  road  to  St.  Regis  was  covered  with  droves 
of  cattle,  and  the  river  with  rafts  of  goods,  destined  for 
the  enemy's  use.  Such  facts  may  not  fill  us  with  pride, 
but  they  show  that  Vermont  was  not  peculiarly  or  will- 
fully errant,  but  rather  was  suffering  with  others  the 
inevitable  results  of  the  war  policy.  The  part  which  her 
sons  voluntarily  took  in  the  military  events  of  the  war 
atones  for  the  laxity  with  which  a  few  of  the  stay-at-homes 
kept  the  laws. 


CHAPTER    X 


FROM    THE    WAR    OF    1812    TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR 


Permanent  Forces  and  Changing  Forms 

The  forest  and  the  soil,  these  were  the  elements  the 
settlers  had  to  deal  with,  and  social  forms  and  forms  of 
industry  were  governed  by  that  fact.     The  settler  was 

of  necessity  a  farmer,  or 
was  engaged  in  those  sim- 
ple, primitive,  extractive 
industries  which  them- 
selves rest  on  the  gifts 
of  nature.  The  work  of 
man,  the  complicated  mod- 
ern system  of  organiza- 
tion which  multiplies  steps 
between  producer  and 
consumer,  had  not  yet 
prominently  appeared. 
The  tilling  of  the  soil 
has  always  been  our  first 
necessity. 

If  our  settler-farmer, 
chopping  in  the  forest, 
broke  his  ax  helve,  which 
would  rarely  happen  with  such  helves  and  skill  as  his,  he 
made   for  himself  another  from  the  stick  of  tough  ash 

192 


If  he  broke  an   ax  helve,  he 
made  for  himself  another 


FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1S12  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      193 


seasoning  in  the  shed.  If  one  of  the  oxen  broke  a  bow 
in  pulling  stumps  over  in  the  "  new  piece,"  another 
bow,  properly  shaped  in  his  own  workshop,  was  ready 
for  its  place.  Very  likely  the  yoke  itself  was  of  his 
framing.  With  ax,  saw,  auger,  shave,  and  ever-ready 
jackknife,  there  were  few  structural  needs  in  house, 
shed,  or  barn  which  he  could  not  supply. 

The  demands  which  the  conditions  of  life  in  a  new 
land  put  upon  him  made  him  an  adept  at  wood  handi- 
craft, gave  him 
skill  and  apti- 
tude, and  created 
a  reputation  for 
the  Yankee  and 
his  jackknife 
which  has  spread 
far  and  wide. 
The  drafts  upon 
his  inventive 
genius  were  daily 
drawn,  and  a 
century  of  American  invention  has  been  the  result. 
In  his  sickle  and  brain  lay  the  modern  reaper ;  in  his 
scythe  and  brain  was  a  mowing  machine  ;  the  short-tined 
fork  with  which  bronzed  arms  tossed  the  fragrant  hay 
in  wind  and  shine  suggested  the  hay  tedder. 

Beside  the  crude  versatile  power  of  his  grandfather 
the  helplessness  of  the  modern  man  to  do  things  for 
himself  is  appalling.  From  top  to  toe,  inside  and  out, 
he  is  dependent  upon  others  than  himself.  The  prod- 
ucts of  all  continents  and  zones  appear  on  every  table. 


i 

i 

li 

~   1 

1         m 

Old-time  Ax  Heads 


i94 


HISTORY    OF    YKKMONT 


The  contents  of  the  humblest  homes  bespeak  the  work 
of  spindles,  looms,  factories,  and  toiling  hands  innumer- 
able. Democracy,  aristocracy,  and  despotism  are  hall- 
marked on  our  dishes,  clothes,  and  viands.  It  is  quite 
conceivable  that  a  century  ago  a  Vermont  farmer,  clad 
in  rough  homespun,  sat  down  to  eat  his  humble  meal  in 
a  home  which  he  had  built  with  his  own  hands,  on  a 
chair  which  he  had  fashioned,  at  a  table  which  was  of 
his  making,  and  ate  from  homemade  wooden  dishes  food 
which  had  ripened  in  no  other  sun  than  that  which  daily 
passed  across  the  blue  over  his  little  clearing. 

If  you  follow 
this  settler 
through  the 
round  of  the 
changing  sea- 
sons, you  will 
find  him  at  every 
step  a  marvel 
forest  gave  him 
the    soil    had    in 


HEX    DlSHE! 


of  resource  and  self-reliance.  The 
material  for  shelter  and  furniture  ; 
it  sustenance  for  the  inner  man.  With  a  few  sheep, 
a  few  cattle,  and  some  poultry  acquired,  you  will  find 
him  on  the  road  to  prosperous  living.  With  a  grist- 
mill, a  sawmill,  and  a  blacksmith  shop  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, you  will  find  a  community  that  is  almost  self- 
sufficing.  Add  a  carding  mill,  a  fulling  mill,  and  a 
tannery,   and  the  possibilities  of  luxury  appear. 

There  is  no  standing  still  in  the  universe.  From  the 
teeming  earth  beneath  our  feet  to  the  nebulous  depths 
and    innumerable   stars  that   delight    our  uplifted   gaze, 


FROM  THE   WAR  OF  1S12  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      195 


all  is  in  process  of  incessant  change.  The  creatures 
who  dwell  upon  the  earth  and  are  called  men  in  the 
brief  period  of  their  visible  existence  here  know  no 
such  thing  as  rest.  When  they  disappear  within  their 
homes,  and  darkness  comes  which  they  call  night,  and 
they  seek  slumber  and  refreshment  for  their  mortal 
frames,  the  life  within  their  bodies  pulses  on,  while  on 
the  other  side  of  the  orb  there  crawl  forth  into  the 
sunlight  other  men  who  take  up  the  ceaseless  task  of 
human  toil.  And  the  men  of  the  East  and  the  men  of 
the  West  work  for  each  other,  although  they  know  it 
not,  for  all  human  life 
runs  into  one  seething 
stream.  These  men 
grow  old  and  bent  and 
gray,  and  their  bodies 
are  put  away  under  the 
earth ;  but  life  and  toil 
do  not  end  thereby, 
for,    lo,    others    have 

come  to  take  their  places.  They  begin  where  the  others 
ended,  so  that  no  age  among  these  men  is  like  any  other 
that  was  ever  seen  or  known  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 
They  dig  in  the  earth  ;  they  sail  on  the  waters  to  and 
fro  ;  they  build  ;  they  fetch ;  they  carry.  They  die  also. 
All  is  in  process  of  incessant  change. 

In  the  quiet  of  this  age  which  we  now  study  were 
laid  the  foundations  for  the  intricacy,  the  complications, 
the  delicate  adjustments  of  modern  life.  The  demands 
which  were  put  upon  these  people  were  broad  as  life 
itself;    they   began    almost    with    the   cradle    and   they 


Riven  Lattice 


njO  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

lasted  to  the  grave.  New  needs,  greater  economy, 
wider  knowledge  forced  upon  men  methods,  resources, 
and  adaptations  before  unknown.  Some  of  the  changes 
we  may  trace,  but  many  more  we  must  pass  unnoticed, 
merely  noting  how  a  few  things  were  then  and  how  they 
are  now. 

A  Half  Century  of  Pastoral  Life 

It  may  appear  futile  to  characterize  with  one  adjective 
any  period  of  modern  life  which  covers  so  long  a  time 
as  fifty  years,  but  it  is  unmistakable  that  the  almost 
unbroken  stretch  from  the  war  which  we  have  just 
noticed  to  the  next  one  that  will  be  our  study  marked 
a  period  of  our  people's  history  with  characteristics 
which  were  unique  and  never  to  be  repeated.  Vermont 
is  still  a  rural  state,  a  state  of  villages  and  small  towns 
and  scattered  farms  instead  of  cities.  Our  entire  popu- 
lation if  massed  together  would  not  make  a  city  remark- 
able for  size.  Yet  the  rural  life  of  the  first  half  of  the 
last  century  was  of  a  character  distinct  from  that  of 
to-day.  The  hardship  of  settling  was  over  ;  the  condi- 
tions of  life  were  easier  ;  neighborhoods  settled  down 
into  conventional  lines  of  rural  industry  and  social 
intercourse. 

It  was  a  transition  period,  as  all  periods  are  in  a  cer- 
tain sense.  The  significant  features  of  modern  organi- 
zation had  begun ;  but  on  the  whole  it  was  a  breathing 
space  preparatory  to  the  tremendous  shaking  up  which 
began  before  the  Civil  War,  went  on  through  that  war, 
and  is  now  whirling  us  on  more  rapidly  than  ever  to 
some  culmination  which  we  can  only  remotely  forecast. 


FROM   THE   WAR   OF   1812  TO  THE   CIVIL  WAR 


97 


But  in  that  age  the  stamp  which  comes  from  honest, 
toilsome  life  next  the  soil  had  not  lost  its  character  in 
the  rush  of  our  bespectacled  age  of  specialization  which 
substitutes  machinery  for  muscle  and  divides  labor  so 
minutely  that  man  becomes  an  automaton  working  on  a 
piece  instead  of  a  creator  of  a  whole  thing.  The  modern 
drift  of  the  wealthy  classes  back  toward  the  country 
pays  an  unconscious  tribute  to-day  to  the  superior  ele- 
ments of  country 
life  in  the  bygone 
days.  Men  know 
no  better  means 
to  conserve  and 
perfect  their 
physical  lives  than 
to  do  artificially 
and  from  choice 
what  their  fathers 
did  naturally  and 
from  necessity. 
It  was  the  simple, 
primal  strength, 
the  whole-hearted  and  sweet  neighborliness,  the  well- 
rounded  development  of  their  lives,  which  made  the 
sons  of  this  state,  "  Vermont  men,"  everywhere  the 
synonym  of  efficiency  coupled  with  integrity,  and  still 
gives  the  oldest  inhabitant  license  to  talk  on  unchidden 
of  the  "good  old  times." 

The  season  of  1816  tested  the  capacity  of  our 
early  farmers  for  self-sufficiency,  and  so  demonstrates 
one  of  the  strong  points   in   the  life  which   we  would 


Revolving  Churn 


198 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


describe.    Spring  came  that  year  unusually  early.    Farm- 
ers planted  their  crops  in  the  hope  of  a  great  harvest, 

but  in  the 
month  of 
June  a  belated 
frost  smote 
the  growing 
fields.  On 
the  morning 
of  the  9th  of 
that  month 
farmers  had 
to  break  ice 
before  their 
cattle  could 
drink  in  the 
troughs. 
Snow  came  in 
the  northern 
part  of  the 
state  and  lay 
on  the  level 
one  foot  in 
depth,  or  was 
whirled  by 
the  wind  into 
drifts  two  or 
three  feet 
deep.  The 
growing  crops  were  cut  down,  the  foliage  of  the  trees 
was  destroyed,  and  the  hope  of  harvest  was  taken  away. 


The  sap  yoke  borne  on  strong  shoulders 


FROM   THE   WAR   OF    L812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      199 

The  beeches  did  not  put  forth  their  leaves  again  that 
summer. 

Ready  money  was  never  plenty,  for  barter  of  home- 
grown commodities  had  always  taken  its  place.  But 
now,  with  the  shortage  of  crops,  through  the  greater 
part  of  the  year  not  a  dollar  could  be  raised  in  many  an 
interior  town  save  from  the  sale  of  ashes.  Ashes  and 
salts  of  ashes  were  about  all  that  could  be  exchanged. 
All  forms  of  provisions  were  scarce  and  high ;  there  was 
no  corn  or  rye  except  the  little  which  could  be  brought 
from  a  great  distance.      Some  wheat  was  made  use  of 


An  Old  Dugout  Trough 

by  harvesting  it  in  the  milk,  drying  it  in  ovens,  and 
mashing  it  into  a  dough  which  could  be  baked  or  boiled 
like  rice.  Fresh  fish  and  all  forms  of  vegetable  life 
which  were  wholesome  were  eaten.  At  Swan  ton  there 
were  ten  fishing  grounds  between  the  falls  and  the  lake 
where  great  seines  were  drawn,  and  hither  came  people 
to  barter  their  maple  sugar  and  other  scanty  resources 
for  fish.  We  hear  of  no  outside  relief ;  we  hear  of  no 
starvation  ;  the  settlers  were  self-sufficing. 

When  the  sun  began  to  warm  up  the  blood  of 
the  maples  in  spring  our  farmers  began  their  sugar- 
ing, not  in  a  comfortable  sugarhouse  with  the  modern 


200 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Old  Sugar  Kettles 


refinements  of  evaporator,  arch,  and  sugar  pans  and  the 
luxury  of  tin  sap  buckets  and  a  gathering  team,  but 
in   the  open  air,  with  a  great  kettle  hung  in  front  of 

the  rude  covering 
which  sheltered 
the  sap  boilers 
through  the  night 
and  from  the  occa- 
sional heavy  fall  of 
a  "  sugar  snow." 
Instead  of  the  neat, 
small  hole  in  the 
maple,  you  would  have  found  then  the  broad  gash  of 
the  ax  or  gouge,  or  wound  of  the  large  bit.  Instead 
of  the  gathering  team  you  would  then  have  seen  the 
sap  yoke  borne  on  strong  shoulders,  with  much  trudging 
here  and  there  among  the  maples,  sometimes  on  snow- 
shoes,  sometimes  without. 

Then,  for  many  frosty  mornings,  while  the  fish  hawks 
began    to   circle 
near  and  the 
wild  geese  to  fly 
north     and    the 
buds  to  swell  in 
the    hard-wood 
forest,     there 
was  the  season's 
stock  of  firewood 
to  cut  and  work  up.     What  a  smell  of  new  life  in  the  air 
as  the  chips  flew  among  the  dank  leaves  and  the  pungent 
odor  of  the  reeking  earth  crept  up  to  the  nostrils ! 


Sugaring  Utensils  of  Fifty  Years  Ago 


FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      201 


When  the  buds  burst  into  leaf  on  birch  and  maple 
there  was  rustling  among  the  seeds  stored  away  in 
mouse-proof  cans  and  boxes,  and  a  supply  was  brought 
out  for  garden  and  field;  while  the  old-fashioned  plow 
with  its  wooden  mold-board  turned  over  the  rich  loam, 
and  the  first  bobolink  gave  sign  that  it  was  time  to 
plant  the  corn,  for  the  maples  were  "gosling  green." 

There    was   plenty 
of 


ork  in  spring, 
with  soap  to  be  made, 
sheep  to  be  sheared, 
and  fencing  to  be  done 
before  the  young  stock 
was  turned  into  the 
timber  and  half- 
cleared  lot  that  was 
called  the  back  pas- 
ture. "  Slash  fence  " 
was  built  most  quickly 
and  easily  there ;  but 
along  the  slope  of  the 
well-tilled  piece  in  the 
clearing,  if  boards 
were  not  over  plenty, 
the  Virginia  or  snake  fence  zigzagged  its  way  along  in 
pasture  and  division  lines. 

We  find  the  farmer  planting  a  greater  diversity  of 
crops  than  we  plant  to-day  on  these  Vermont  hills, 
because  he  had  to  produce  so  many  different  things  for 
himself.  For  example,  to  supply  the  need  of  household 
linen,  flax  must  be  raised.     A  variety  of  grains  was  sown 


Instead   of  the   neat  auger   hole 
you  would  have  found  the  broad 

GASH    OF   THE    AX 


J<  )J 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


on  every  farm, —  rye,  barley,  oats,  winter  wheat,  Indian 
wheat,  and  Indian  corn.  All  kinds  of  vegetables  now 
in  common  use  were  then  raised.  After  the  crops  were 
in,  there  were  sure  to  be  a  few  days  of  stone  piling, 
stump  pulling,  and  odds  and  ends  of  work  to  be  done. 
Perhaps  there  was  a  short-handed  neighbor  to  help,  and 
tools  to  fit  up  and  put  in  shape  for  haying. 


Getting  in  the  Season's  Stock  of  Firewood 

When  the  freshness  and  crispness  of  the  spring  morn- 
ings had  burned  off  in  summer's  haze,  the  swing  of  the 
scythe  through  the  grass  in  unvarying  rhythmic  motion 
told  of  strong  backs  and  sinewy  arms.  Between  hoeing 
and  haying  perhaps  a  day's  fishing  might  intervene  and 
take  the  farmer's  boy  into  the  cool  depths  of  the  forest 
beside  some  murmuring  stream  ;  but  for  the  most  part 
the  youngster  was  rapidly  maturing  in  the  company  of 
his  elders.  There  was  no  place  on  the  farm  where  a 
boy  could  not  be  useful;  sometimes  he  could  do  as  well 
as  a  man,  for  he  could  turn  the  grindstone,  spread  the 


FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      203 


hay,  and  get  the  cows,  and  in  the  same  tasks  a  man 
could  not  do  more.  Large  families  were  obviously  a 
blessing. 

As  good  sport  as  fishing  it  must  have  been  to  line 
bees  or  go  to  June  training,  or  to  a  raising  at  one  of 
the  neighbors',  or  where  some  public  enterprise  like  the 
building  of  a  church  or  schoolhouse  needed  helping 
hands.  Then  there  were  the  roads  to  be  worked,  and 
the  sheep  to  be  washed  in  the  pool,  and  perchance  a 
neighbor  to  be  helped 


with  a  clearing  bee. 

On  Sunday  what 
a  relaxation  of  tired 
muscles  and  what  a 
straining  of  the  mind 
when  the  entire  neigh- 
borhood  listened  to 
the  long  forenoon  and 
afternoon  sermons, 
happily  broken  by  a 
midday   lunch    with 

gossip  around  the  church  steps,  the  horse  sheds,  and  in 
the  neighboring  graveyard.  This  must  have  been  as 
welcome  and  as  serviceable  as  a  weekly  newspaper. 
Little  wonder  that  a  tithingman  was  needed  to  prod 
the  drowsy  into  the  form  if  not  the  spirit  of  greater 
godliness,  when  wearied  bodies  and  sated  minds  gave 
way  before  the  combined  attack  of  pew  and  pulpit  and 
sank  into  natural  and  audible  repose. 

Bass  viol,  psalm  book,  and  pitch  pipe  were  the  usual 
requisites  of  the  choir,  and  occasionally  a  flute  or  clarinet 


Foot  pans,  brought  with  live  coals, 
furnished  the  warmth 


204 


HISTORY    OF    VE K.MONT 


added  strength  and  guidance  to  the  voices.  Hymns 
were  "  lined,"  and  singing  was  general,  the  entire  con- 
gregation joining  in  hearty  and  somewhat  tuneful  phrase- 
in  each  line  after  it  had  been  read  aloud  by  pastor  or  pre- 
centor. More  "minors"  were  rendered  than  our  genera- 
tion is  inclined  to  be  doleful  over;  but  some  of  the  old 
tunes  bid  fair  to  outlast  the  jingle  of  their  modern  rivals. 


Husking  Corn  and  Paring   Arri.Es 

Churchgoing  might  be  all  very  well  in  summer,  when 
voices  of  birds  and  the  drowsy  hum  of  insects  floated  in 
through  the  open  doors  and  windows;  but  it  makes  us 
shiver  a  little,  even  now,  to  think  what  it  must  have 
been  in  winter,  in  an  un warmed  church  where  foot  pans, 
brought  with  live  coals,  furnished  the  only  means  of 
warmth. 

In  the  autumn  the  harvest !  Then,  amid  the  chang- 
ing red  and  gold  and  brown  and  russet  of  the  forest,  the 


FROM  THE   WAR  OF  1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAF 


205 


work  of  full  fruitage  went  on.  It  was  done  by  hand,  — 
reaping,  threshing,  husking,  shelling,  —  but  it  was  labor 
lightened  by  good  cheer  as  neighbors  changed  work,  or 
met  beneath  the  rafters  of  the  barns  to  strip  the  ears  of 
corn,  or  in  the  low-posted  kitchen  at  a  paring  bee.  On 
the  next  day  after  the  paring  bee  the  younger  genera- 
tion would  meet  and  string  the  apples  before  they  were 
hung  aloft  in  long  festoons  for  drying.  Dried  apple, 
apple  sauce,  and 
apple  butter  were 
an  unfailing  re- 
source  of  the 
thrifty  housewife. 

There  was 
rhythm  in  all  this 
life,  whether  you 
seek  it  in  the  al- 
ternating strokes 
of  the  flails  on  the 
threshing  floor  as 
the  threshers  beat 
out  the  golden 
grain,  or  in  the  low,  continuous  rustle  of  the  husks  as 
nimble  fingers  stripped  the  ears   of  corn. 

Corn  shelling  was  a  task  for  boys,  and  the  occupa- 
tion gave  a  splendid  opportunity  to  the  inventiveness  of 
youth,  wondrous  mechanisms  being  improvised  as  corn 
shellers.  Corn  was  the  source  of  much  pleasure  and 
pain.  The  golden  kernels  served  as  counters  in  many 
games  of  checkers  and  fox  and  geese,  which  served  to 
while  away  long  evening  hours  before  the  fireplace  in 


Wondrous  mechanisms  were  improvised 
as  corn  shellers 


206 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


winter.  This  Indian  grain  was  for  years  a  staple  article 
of  diet  in  various  forms  whose  names  —  hominy,  samp, 
succotash  —  bespeak  Indian  ways  of  preparing  it,  taught 
to  the  early  settlers. 

In  the  fall,  too,  butchering  was  done,  and  then  came 

the  time  for  souse  and  sau- 
sage, smoking  hams  and  dry- 
ing beef,  making  mince  pies 
and  candle  dipping. 

The  work  of  the  women 
was  as  important  as  that  of 
the  men.  Into  their  custody 
went  the  wool  and  flax  for 
spinning  and  weaving.  It 
was  no  small  task  to  keep 
clothed  from  head  to  feet 
the  throng  of  sturdy  boys 
and  girls  who  made  up  old- 
fashioned  families.  In  days 
when  cloth  production  was 
part  of  the  industry  of  every 
household,  flax  and  wool 
demanded  much  attention. 
Now  there  is  left  in  our 
homes  scarcely  a  trace  of 
the  former  textile  art.  About  the  only  reminders  we 
possess  are  the  pretty  foot  wheels  for  spinning,  which 
are  sought  after  in  old  attics  and  brought  down  into 
modern  parlors  as  relics  of  olden  time.  Few  farmers 
raise  flax  now,  and  few  wives  would  know  what  to  do 
with  it  if  they  did.      Home  spinning  and  home  weaving 


The  Pretty  Foot  Wheel  - 
a  Relic  of  Olden  Times 


FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      207 


are  gone,  and  knitting  will  soon  be  among  the  lost  arts 
of  New  England  housewives. 

Until  the  advent  of  the  carding  mill,  the  wool  was 
carded  by  hand,  after  being  cleaned  and  greased.  This 
made  the  fibers  parallel  and  ready  to  roll  into  fleecy  rolls 
for  the  spinning  wheel.  Spinning  was  a  fine  art,  but 
was  practiced  in  every  household.  The  quick  back- 
ward and  forward  steps  of  the  spinner  would  have 
counted  miles  in  a  day,  while  her  flexile,  alert,  and 
supple  movements 
of  arms  and  body 
gave  natural  grace, 
poise,  and  dignity 
of  carriage  which 
all  the  artifices  of 
physical  culture 
can  but  poorly 
rival. 

After    spinning 

Wool  Cards 
came    weaving. 

The  presence  of  looms  wras  not  so  universal  as  that  of 

spinning  wheels ;  there  were  consequently  in  every  town 

professional  weavers  who  would  take  in  yarn  and  thread 

to  weave  at  stated  prices  per  yard,  or  would  if  desired 

go  out  weaving   by  the  day.      In  such  ways  itinerant 

craftsmen  began  to  have  their  day.     The  cobbler  was 

another  familiar  example. 

Fine  patterns  were  sometimes  made  of  woven  goods ; 

while  from  the  flax  skillful  weavers  made  beautiful  linens 

for  sheets  and  coverlets,  tablecloths  and  napkins,  many 

of  which  have  long  outlasted  their  makers. 


208 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


The  dyeing  of  the  cloth  was  also  a  home  process  at 
first,  and  flowers  of  the  field  and  the  bark  of  various 
trees  were  used  in  ways  we  never  think  of.  The  bark  of 
the  red  oak  or  hickory  furnished  pretty  shades  of  brown 
and  yellow;  sassafras  bark  was  used  for  dyeing  yellow 
and  orange;  field  sorrel  boiled  with  woolen  was  the  first 
process  in  making  black,  which  was  finished  by  the  use 
of  logwood  or  copperas.     The  golden-rod,  pressed  of  its 


a    JBp 

•Miay**f'1  - 

- 

S&&W& 

JB 

— 

Em& 

H 

l|J! 

Bf*ji 

A   Rag  Carpet  on   the   Loom 

juices,  yielded  material  for  a  beautiful  green  when  mixed 
with  indigo  and  alum ;  and  the  flower-de-luce  furnished 
from  June  meadows  a  purple  tinge  for  white  wool. 

In  all  our  social  and  economic  life  to-day  the  most 
striking  factor  is  cooperation.  Its  forms  vary,  but  its 
force  is  ever  present.  All  products  of  our  markets  are 
made  and  distributed  by  it.  All  societies,  labor  organi- 
zations, religious  and  political  institutions  are  standing 
illustrations  of  the  principle.     Now,  if  we  look  at  the 


FROM   THE   WAR   OF   1S12  TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR      209 

life  we  have  just  portrayed,  we  may  see  this  same 
element  permeating  it  all. 

Industrially,  you  find  it  in  this  fact  :  combined  effort 
in  the  form  of  mutual  assistance  takes  the  place  of  divi- 
sion of  labor.  It  also  saves  ''hired  help,"  and  makes 
easily  possible  tasks  which  would  otherwise  have  been 
performed  with  hardship.  This  is  an  economic  explana- 
tion of  the  "bees  "  which  were  so  common, — the  logging 
bees,  stone-piling  bees,  clearing  bees,  raisings,  stump 
pulling  and  wall  building,  road  breaking,  haying,  harvest- 
ing, and  husking.  There  is  in  them  a  cooperative  element 
of  distinct  economic  value. 

And  now  notice  their  second  value  :  they  have  an 
important  bearing  on  the  life  of  the  times.  Social  rela- 
tions and  social  ethics  were  based  on  these  same  inci- 
dents to  a  large  degree.  Hard  and  exhausting  labor  is 
made  easy  by  the  hearty  cheeriness  of  the  neighbor. 
This  neighborliness  forced  out  of  our  early  society  all 
social  stratification  and  made  Vermont  as  purely  a 
democratic  state  as  one  could  easily  find.  Caste  was 
unknown,  because  all  people  did  the  same  things.  The 
neighborhood  was  the  social  unit. 

The  women  had  their  cooperative  work  as  well  as  the 
men.  It  took  the  form  of  quilting  bees,  house  cleaning, 
preserving,  and  other  forms  of  domestic  economy,  of 
which  we  have  still  a  vanishing  trace  in  sewing  circles, 
ladies'  aid  societies,  church  suppers,  and  other  activities 
which  now  take  the  form  of  public  charities  rather  than 
of  private  industry.  The  young  people  also  had  common 
interests  in  mixed  parties  at  the  huskings  and  paring  bees 
as  well  as  in  more  purely  social  forms. 


2IO 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Transition 


A.    General  Features 

Having  traced  in  outline  the  conditions  prevailing  at 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  we  must  at  once  remem- 
ber that  those  conditions  did  not  remain  fixed.  You  will 
find  in  history  that  the  height  of  advance  of  one  genera- 


One-horse  Chaise 

tion  is  usually  —  not  always  —  the  foundation  on  which 
the  next  one  builds.  For  example,  in  one  generation  a 
city  has  omnibuses  ;  the  next  sees  horse  cars  running  on 
fixed  tracks  ;  the  next  decade,  perhaps,  finds  the  horse 
cars  supplanted  by  the  electric  trolley.  The  former 
methods  which  in  their  day  were  a  distinct  advance  are  no 
longer  wanted,  but  are  old-fashioned,  wasteful,  obsolete. 


FROM   THE    WAR   OF  1812  TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR      211 

In  a  similar  way  in  the  history  of  Vermont  we  must 
pass  from  stagecoach  to  railroad,  from  the  hand  card 
to  the  modern  woolen  mill.  The  change  comes  in  the 
period  we  are  now  studying. 

From  1830  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  the  rough 
edges  of  pioneer  life  were  being  rounded  off.  Little  by 
little  new  industries  began  to  creep  in  and  transforma- 
tions to  occur  in  our  simple  communities.  The  little 
cabins  of  logs  gave  way  to  the  low,  wide  houses  with  the 


1 

^  1 

*«si8ffifiip§il!!i 

fc..  - 

An  Old  Turnpike  Tavern 


great  brick  chimneys  and  fireplaces.  The  old  hill  roads, 
"  stage  roads  "  as  they  are  still  called  in  the  vernacular, 
were  the  lines  of  busiest  thoroughfare  only  until  the  rail- 
road came.  The  industries  of  the  valleys  grew  more 
and  more  felt ;  the  more  level  if  less  scenic  river  roads 
made  their  appearance  ;  and  some  of  the  old  hill  towns 
passed  the  climax  of  their  glory  and  began  to  decline. 

Not  a  few  towns  in  the  state  had  a  larger  population 
in  18  10  or  1820  than  they  had  in  1850  or  i860,  or  have 
even  to-day,  and  three  entire  counties  —  Orange,  Wind- 
ham, and  Windsor  —  declined  between  the  census  of  1810 


212  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

and  that  of  1900.  Addison  County  had  a  larger  popula- 
tion in  1830  than  in  1900.  The  population  of  the  entire 
state  remained  practically  stationary  from  1850  to  i860. 
In  fact,  if  you  look  at  the  census  tables  you  will  find 
that  the  decade  between  1820  and  1830  was  the  last  one 
that  shows  any  marked  increase  of  percentage  in  the 
population  of  the  state. 

The  explanation  of  this  is  not  that  the  state  as  a  whole 
had  become  stagnant,  or  any  particular  sections  of  it 
gone  to  seed.  Its  explanation  is  found  in  the  general 
conditions  of  the  country  at  large.  It  is  one  of  the  signs 
of  the  enterprise  and  adventurous  spirit  of  Vermonters 
that  they  have  sought  new  fields  of  activity  wherever 
they  opened,  and  have  carried  the  leaven  of  the  Green 
Mountain  State  into  many  new  commonwealths  and  to 
all  quarters  of  the  globe.  The  opening  up  of  the  North- 
west and  Indiana  territories  —  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  — 
and,  after  the  Louisiana  purchase,  the  opening  up  of 
the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  drew  heavily  on  the 
East.  When  cotton  and  woolen  factories  began  to  rise 
in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  many  of  the  girls 
and  boys  began  to  feel  that  farm  life  was  drudgery,  and 
that  the  city  had  something  better  for  them  ;  and  so 
they  went,  for  better  or  for  worse.  Then,  just  at  the 
middle  of  the  century,  the  discoveries  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia sent  a  fever  for  sudden  wealth  into  every  town 
and  hamlet  of  the  East,  and  men  went  to  the  Pacific 
slope  to  make  slaves  of  themselves  for  gold  and  dross. 
If  we  should  undertake  to  write  the  history  of  the  people 
of  Vermont  from  this  point,  it  would  take  us  into  almost 
every  state  and  territory  of  the  Union,  into  the  mining 


FROM   THE    WAR   OF   1812   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR      21 3 

camps  of  the  West,  to  the  seas,  and  to  the  lands  that  lie 
beyond  the  seas.  So  for  the  remainder  of  this  chapter 
we  must  limit  our  story  strictly  to  the  geographical 
boundaries  of  the  state,  and  note  only  what  went  on 
therein  in  a  few  lines  of  development. 

B.    Agriculture 

Vermont  remained  primarily  an  agricultural  state,  and 
of  her  agricultural  interests  the  production  of  wool  was 
by  far  the  most  important  single  item  up  to  the  Civil 
War.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  textile  arts  prac- 
ticed in  every  home,  and  have  indicated  the  changes 
which  had  begun,  even  before  the  War  of  181 2,  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  and  woolen.  When  every  home 
was  a  woolen  mill  in  embryo,  every  farmer  was  naturally 
a  shepherd  ;  and  sheep  breeding  did  not  cease  to  be 
an  important  industry  when  the  process  of  manufacture 
changed, — the  market  for  wool  remained. 

The  first  sheep  commonly  bred  here  were  a  hardy 
breed  of  English  sheep,  raised  both  for  mutton  and 
wool,  although  not  especially  good  for  either.  Their 
wool  was  long  and  coarse,  but  as  there  were  then  no 
great  aspirations  for  fine-wool  clothing  it  did  very  well. 
With  the  perfection  of  the  process  of  making  really  fine 
cloth,  however,  there  came  a  demand  for  a  finer  staple. 
Fortunately  the  demand  was  met  in  a  way  which  made 
Vermont  a  leader  in  the  production  of  fine  wool. 

William  Jarvis  of  Weathersfield  was  United  States  con- 
sul to  Portugal  early  in  the  last  century.  Just  before 
the  War  of  18 12  he  succeeded  in  sending  to  this  country 
a  large  importation   of   Spanish   merinos.     Apparently 


2I4 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


the  first  importation  did  not  attract  much  attention, 
being  scattered  about,  but  the  stock  was  being  intro- 
duced and  herds  of  merinos  built  up.  In  1828  Congress 
passed  the  "tariff  of  abominations,"  which,  among  other 
things,  had  the  effect  of  sending  up  the  price  of  wool. 
This  fact  and  the  increasing  interest  in  merinos  boomed 
sheep  raising  in  Vermont.  The  price  of  merino  wool 
was  one  dollar  a  pound  in  1807;  it  rose  to  two  dollars, 
then    to   two   dollars  and    fifty   cents   during    the  war. 

No  wonder  that 
farmers  went  ex- 
clusively into  the 
business  of  wool 
growing,  or  that 
manufactories 
went  up  on  al- 
most every  stream 
that  had  water 
enough  to  run  the 
machinery. 

Of  course  that  state  of  things  was  too  artificial  to  last ; 
yet  there  was  enough  real  economic  foundation  under 
the  wool  business  to  make  it  a  leading  agricultural  fea- 
ture for  years.  The  fabulous  prices  which  had  once 
obtained  for  merinos  fell  off,  but  that  only  served  to 
allow  their  good  qualities  to  be  spread  more  widely, 
since  it  enabled  men  of  moderate  means  to  own  supe- 
rior flocks  of  sheep.  At  home  and  abroad  the  fineness 
of  Vermont  fleeces  gained  an  enviable  reputation,  and 
her  merinos  were  sought  after  as  foundations  for  herds 
the  world  over. 


Cheese  Basket  with  Ladders 


FROM  THE   WAR   OF   1812  TO  THE   CIVIL  WAR      215 


The  relative  importance  of  wool  growing  at  the  middle 
of  the  century  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  there  were 
then  more  than  twice  as  many  sheep  kept  as  all  other 
farm  stock  put  together,  —  horses,  swine,  mules  and 
asses,  dairy  cows  and  other  neat  cattle.  There  were 
then  over  a  million  sheep  within  the  state.  In  1840 
there  had  been  1,681,819.  In  that  year  there  were 
3,699,235  pounds  of  wool  produced.  Wool  was  the  great 
market  product. 


endurance,  and  toughness.  More  than  two  million 
dollars'  worth  of  dairy  products  were  produced  in 
1840.  This  amount  seems  all  the  more  important 
when  we  remember  that  dairying  was  hardly  made  a 
specialty  in  Vermont  farming  until  after  1830;  that 
butter  and  cheese  were  made  mostly  for  home  con- 
sumption, and  that  up  to  1840  butter  seldom  brought 
over  ten  cents  a  pound. 

The  cheese-factory  system  originated  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century,  but  it  hardly  seems  to  have  held  its 


216  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

own  beside  the  development  of  butter  making.  In 
sonic  farm  homes  to-day  the  old,  laborious  process  of 
cheese  making  may  be  seen.  Associated  dairying  began 
about  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  so  it  hardly  falls  within 
this  period  of  our  study ;  but  the  improvement  of  dairy 
stock  had  already  begun  by  the  introduction  of  strains 
of  Ayrshire,  Holstein,  and  Jersey  blood.  The  type  of 
cow  began  to  change  from  that  of  the  beef  animal  to 
that  of  the  dairy  animal. 

The  history  of  the  improvement  of  farm  implements 
would  be  an  interesting  study  in  itself.  We  find  it 
almost  impossible  to  understand  how  our  forefathers 
got  along  with  the  kind  of  tools  they  had.  Yet  the 
change  to  better  forms  was  not  always  easy  to  make. 
For  example,  in  1825  a  plow  with  a  cast-iron  mold- 
board  was  offered  for  sale  in  Poultney  for  the  first  time. 
It  had  already  been  introduced  in  New  York  and  the 
Middle  States,  and  was  gradually  working  its  way  into  use. 
But  the  farmers  of  Poultney  would  not  buy  it.  They 
were  afraid  it  would  break ;  and  they  were  sure  it  would 
not  work  among  the  rocks  and  stones  of  Vermont. 
Besides,  the  old  plow  was  good  enough.  Any  one  could 
do  the  woodwork  on  it,  and  a  third-rate  blacksmith 
could  put  on  straps  of  iron.  But  finally  one  farmer  after 
another  was  induced  to  try  the  new  plow ;  they  found 
it  did  not  break  but  did  better  work  than  the  old  plows; 
and  by  1 840  the  wooden  plow  was  a  thing  of  the  past. 

So,  little  by  little,  old  things  were  laid  aside  and  new 
things  took  their  places.  In  i860  there  were  thirty- 
two  establishments  in  the  state  making  agricultural 
implements.     Although   their  annual  product   was  not 


FROM   THE   WAR  OF   1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      217 

large  when  compared  with  other  manufacturing  indus- 
tries, nevertheless  it  was  significant  of  the  transition 
which  was  taking  place  in  the  conduct  of  agriculture 
as  in  all  else. 

C.    Transportation 

At  the  close  of  the  War  of  18  12  the  means  of  trans- 
portation were  still  primitive  enough  so  that  bulky 
crops  could  not  be  taken  to  distant  markets.  This 
determined  the  nature  of  farming  to  the  extent  that 
grain  was  still  fed  to  pork  which  was  carried  to  Boston 
in  the  annual  winter  trip  from  every  town;  that  cattle 
were  driven  on  hoof  to  market ;  and  that  potatoes  were 
turned  into  starch  and  whisky.  The  new  land  furnished 
a  sure  crop  of  potatoes,  and  usually  a  heavy  one;  the 
starch  factories  and  the  potato  distilleries  furnished  a 
sure  market ;  both  contributed  to  sap  the  life  of  many 
a  splendid  old  hill  farm  and  leave  only  a  sickly  crop  of 
wiry,  worthless  grass  as  its  inheritance. 

About  1820  the  Cham  plain  canal  opened  communi- 
cation between  the  lake  and  New  York  by  way  of  the 
Hudson  River,  and  brought  a  better  market  for  the 
lumber  of  the  valley  than  Quebec  had  been.  From 
that  time  until  about  1843  the  lumber  trade  turned 
thither.  The  old  Quebec  raftsmen  clung  to  their  for- 
mer methods  of  rafting  their  lumber  to  market;  but 
the  new  companies  took  modern  craft,  canal  boat  and 
schooner.  After  our  native  timber  was  exhausted,  Bur- 
lington remained  a  center  for  the  trade  in  lumber,  which 
now,  reversing  the  former  course  of  its  history,  began 
to  come  from  Canada  to  us. 


218  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

The  western  part  of  the  state  had  in  its  water  route 
through  the  lake  and  canal  and  river  a  more  econom- 
ical access  to  New  York  markets  than  the  eastern  part 
ever  had  to  the  Boston  market  till  the  railroad  came. 
After  the  opening  of  the  Connecticut  and  Passumpsic 
Railroad  to  Boston  the  eastern  portion  of  the  state  was 
greatly  stimulated.  The  affiliation  of  the  western  part 
of  the  state  with  New  York  and  the  eastern  part  with 
Boston,  as  centers  of  trade  and  news,  remains  to  this  day. 


Bird's-eye  View  of  Burlington  Half  a  Century  Ago 

In  the  early  part  of  the  century  the  separate  states 
had  done  something  for  themselves  in  the  way  of  better- 
ing their  roads,  canals,  rivers,  and  harbors  ;  and  as  the 
surplus  in  the  national  treasury  grew,  politicians  began 
to  talk  about  a  federal  scheme  of  internal  improve- 
ments as  a  way  to  spend  the  money.  Jefferson  was 
quite  carried  away  with  the  idea.  But  the  War  of  1812 
interrupted  the  conversation,  the  surplus  vanished,  and 
the  whole  scheme  disappeared,  though  it  left  the  subject 
of  internal  improvements  in  the  air.     The  Erie  Canal 


FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR     219 

was  opened  in  1825,  and  its  success  turned  attention 
to  this  particular  form  of  improvement.  Considerable 
interest  was  roused  in  this  state,  and  plans  were  dis- 
cussed for  the  construction  of  canals.  The  Hudson 
River  and  Champlain  Canal  was  an  undoubted  benefit. 
A  canal  board  was  appointed,  and  projects  were  con- 
sidered for  the  construction  of  a  canal  between  lakes 


Birthplace  of  Levi  P.  Morton,  1824,  at  Shoreham 


Memphremagog  and  Champlain,  also  for  navigating  the 
Connecticut.  Some  surveys  were  made,  but  nothing  in 
the  way  of  construction  was  attempted  ;  and  presently 
railroads  superseded  canals  in  public  estimation  and 
from   1830  became  the  topic  of  the  time. 

Before  the  railroads  were  built  some  attempts  were 
made  to  navigate  the  Connecticut  by  steamboats.  In 
1827  a  boat  called  the  Barnct  was  built,  which  succeeded 


220  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

in  going  as  far  up  the  river  as  Bellows  Falls  ;  but  it  was 
taken  back  to  Hartford  and  broken  up,  as  its  exploit  did 
not  warrant  repetition.  Two  years  later  two  boats  were 
built  to  run  between  Bellows  Falls  and  Barnet ;  but 
there  were  too  many  obstacles  to  be  overcome,  and  their 
history  was  limited  to  a  few  experimental  trips. 

The  talk  about  railroads  went  on  from  1830  to  1840. 
Surveys  were  made  along  the  valleys  of  the  Connecti- 
cut and  Passumpsic  rivers  to  the  Canada  line,  near  Lake 
Memphremagog ;  from  Burlington  along  the  Winooski 
Valley  to  the  Connecticut ;  from  Bennington  to  Brattle- 
boro  ;  from  Rutland  to  Whitehall,  and  elsewhere.  Com- 
panies were  incorporated  as  early  as  1835.  But  hard 
times  came  on,  a  financial  cataclysm  swept  the  coun- 
try, and  the  beginning  of  the  enterprises  was  deferred 
for  some  years. 

In  1843  another  railroad  was  incorporated,  stock  was 
subscribed  for,  and  the  Vermont  Central  began  work  in 
1847.  In  the  following  year  the  first  passenger  train 
was  run,  from  White  River  Junction  to  Bethel.  One 
hundred  and  seventeen  miles  of  road  were  opened,  from 
Windsor  to  Burlington.  Between  1848  and  185 1  the 
Vermont  and  Canada  road  laid  fifty-three  miles  of  rails, 
from  Rouse's  Point  to  Burlington.  Still  the  work  went 
on.  Within  a  few  years  a  road  was  built  from  Essex- 
Junction  to  Rouse's  Point,  and  from  Rutland  to  Ben- 
nington, to  Whitehall,  New  York,  and  to  Troy,  New 
York.  The  Connecticut  and  Passumpsic  Railroad  was 
extended  to  St.  Johnsbury,  and  pushed  through  to  New- 
port in  1862.  Laws  had  provided  for  the  construction 
of  telegraph  lines  before  the  railroads  were  in  operation. 


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Railroad  Map  of  Vermont 


FROM  THE  WAR   OF    1812   TO  THE   CIVIL  WAR       221 

The  coming  of  the  railroads  marked  an  era  in  the 
history  of  Vermont  as  it  has  in  every  other  state.  Rail- 
roads could  fetch  and  carry  ;  they  created  new  markets 
and  transformed  country  life.  The  lumbering  industry 
took  a  new  lease  of  life,  and  sawmills  whose  business 
had  been  limited  to  local  needs  now  found  a  wider  demand 
for  their  products.  All  crops  could  now  be  marketed, 
and  the  slow,  tedious  trips  by  horse  teams  to  Portland 
and  Boston  were  no  longer  necessary.  The  business  of 
the  country  store  expanded,  and  a  host  of  middlemen 
arose  to  take  the  butter,  cheese,  eggs,  wool,  and  other 
products  of  the  farm.  Ready  money  became  more 
plentiful,  and  store  goods  began  to  take  the  place  of 
homespun. 

D.    Manufacturing  and  Business 

We  cannot  hope  to  cover  the  history  of  manufactur- 
ing during  half  a  century  in  the  brief  space  here  allotted; 
but  perhaps  we  can  cite  enough  important  enterprises  to 
illustrate  the  kind  of  change  which  was  going  on  in  Ver- 
mont's manufacturing  and  commercial  work.  To  begin 
with,  we  ought  to  notice  that  although  there  was  an 
important  growth  of  manufacturing  previous  to  i860, 
and  especially  in  the  decade  just  preceding  that  date, 
there  was  not  proportionately  a  large  amount  of  Ver- 
mont wealth  invested  in  manufacturing  industries,  or  of 
Vermont  people  engaged  in  conducting  them. 

A  few  figures  will  make  this  plain.  The  total  value 
of  farm  property  in  i860  was  $114,196,989.  There 
were  at  that  date  probably  over  thirty  thousand  farms 
in    cultivation.     There    were,    however,    all    told,    only 


222  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

1883  separate  establishments  devoted  to  manufactur- 
ing, and  the  total  capitalization  of  these  was  less  than 
$9,500,000.  The  population  of  the  state  was  315,098  ; 
but  the  manufacturing  wage  earners  numbered  only 
10,497,  that  is,  about  one  in  every  thirty  of  the 
population. 

But  if  we  compare  now  the  figures  for  i860  with 
those  for  1850,  we  shall  notice  another  fact  which  is 
quite  as  striking.  In  1850  there  were  1849  establish- 
ments, employing  8445  wage  earners,  and  capitalized  at 
almost  exactly  $5,000,000.  The  wages  paid  in  1850 
were  something  over  two  million  dollars  ;  in  i860  they 
were  over  three  million.  The  value  of  the  products 
made  was  over  eight  million  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  1850;  over  fourteen  million  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  in  i860.  That  is  to  say,  summing 
it  all  up,  in  ten  years  practically  the  same  number 
of  establishments  employed  twenty-five  per  cent  more 
people,  paid  them  over  thirty-six  per  cent  more  wages, 
and  made  over  seventy  per  cent  more  in  value  of 
products. 

From  this  little  study  of  figures  we  learn  two  things  : 
There  was  a  rapid  increase  in  the  value  of  manufactured 
goods  just  before  the  Civil  War,  but  there  was  a  com- 
paratively slight  increase  in  the  number  of  manufac- 
turing establishments.  From  this  we  may  go  on  still 
further  and  draw  an  inference  :  There  had  been  develop- 
ing a  limited  number  of  large  and  expanding  industries 
instead  of  a  large  number  of  small  and  limited  industries. 
This  brings  us  to  the  heart  of  the  whole  matter  ;  for 
such   a   course   of  development   is  only   possible   when 


FROM  THE  WAR   OF  1812  TO  THE   CIVIL  WAR      223 

local  markets  arc  disregarded.  This,  then,  is  the  transi- 
tion which  has  come  to  Vermont's  manufacturing,  —  she 
has  ceased  to  produce  for  herself  alone  and  begun  to 
produce  for  others. 

This  is  a  far  different  state  of  things  from  that  of  the 
earlier  days  when  the  blacksmith  shop,  the  sawmill,  the 
gristmill,  the  tannery,  the  carding  mill,  and  the  fulling 
mill  composed  the  list  of  enterprises  that  could  boast  of 
being  manufactories.  It  is  true  that  many  small  estab- 
lishments lingered  on,  supplying  local  needs  ;  but  the 
other  side  of  the  case  becomes  startlingly  apparent  when 
we  notice  that  out  of  the  total  $14,637,837  produced  in 
i860  over  one  half  was  sent  out  by  concerns  dealing 
with  the  five  products,  wool,  marble,  lumber,  leather, 
and  grain. 

A  few  illustrations  will  serve  to  show  better  this 
evolution  of  industry.  In  181 5  Joseph  Fairbanks  came 
into  the  Moose  River  Valley  and  set  up  a  grist  and  saw 
mill  at  St,  Johnsbury.  His  sons  had  a  mechanical  turn 
of  mind  and  went  into  the  wheelwright  and  foundry 
business.  They  manufactured  hoes,  pitchforks,  cast- 
iron  plows,  and  stoves.  They  gained  a  reputation  for 
skill  and  reliability,  and  in  1830  were  awarded  a  contract 
for  making  hemp-dressing  machines,  which  were  required 
for  cleaning  the  hemp  and  preparing  the  fiber  for  market, 
—  a  new  industry  then  springing  up.  Some  method  of 
weighing  rough  hemp  by  the  wagonload  was  sorely 
needed.  This  led  to  an  investigation  of  the  principle  of 
levers  as  combined  in  weighing  machines,  and  resulted 
in  the  invention  and  perfection  of  the  platform  scale 
by  Thaddaeus    Fairbanks.     What  was  started  as  a  mere 


224 


HISTORY    OF    VKkMONT 


incident  of  a  comparatively  small  business  grew  into  an 
extensive  commerce  in  an  article  that  set  the  standard 
for  the  world. 

An  equally  humble  beginning  was  that  made  by  Jacob 
Estey  in  1846,  when  he  commenced  to  make  musical 
instruments,  and  drove  about  the  country  selling  them 
from  his  own  wagon.  His  business  also  grew  into  the 
largest  one  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  — the  Estey  Organ 

Works. 

.._ _^ In  this  period 

our  three  great 
quarrying  indus- 
tries   were    put 
on  a  firm  foun- 
dation.   The  be- 
ginning of  mar- 
ble   quarrying 
has    been    men- 
tioned   in    an 
earlier  period ;  it 
had  an  extensive 
Granite  quarrying  was 
12,  but  did  not 
The  first  slate 


F^*_~, 


Birthplace  of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  1830 
at  Fairfield 


growth  before  the  Civil  War 

begun  about  the  time  of  the  War  of  1 

greatly  develop  until  after  the  Civil  War 

quarry  opened  in  the  state  was  at  Fairhaven,  where  work 

began  in  1839.     Some  eight  years   later   roofing  slate 

began   to  be  made,   and  the  industry  has   maintained 

considerable  magnitude  ever  since. 

In  this  period  Vermont  enterprise  extended  into  other 
fields  of  business.  Some  of  the  most  honored  fiduciary 
institutions  of  the  state  began   their  existence   before 


FROM   THE   WAR  OF   1S12  TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR 


225 


the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Banks  were  incor- 
porated, and  fire  and  life  insurance  companies  were 
established.  The  Vermont  Mutual  dates  from  1827, 
the  National  Life  from   1848. 

Vermont  inventiveness  deserves  a  tribute  all  the  more 
since  it  has  not  always  exacted  tribute  or  recognition. 
Morey's  invention  of  the  steamboat  has  already  been 
mentioned.  But  the  use  of  electricity  as  a  moving 
principle  in  machinery 
was  demonstrated  by 
Thomas  Davenport  to 
be  practicable  half  a 
century  before  the  world 
was  ready  for  the  dis- 
covery. The  electric 
motor,  the  electric  tele- 
graph, the  electric  loco- 
motive, and  the  electric 
piano  were  products  of 
his  brain.  Professor 
Alonzo  Jackman  of  Nor- 
wich University  conceived  the  feasibility  of  the  subma- 
rine cable  in  1842.  Phineas  Bailey  of  Chelsea  devised 
a  phonetic  method  of  shorthand  in  18 19  —  eighteen 
years  before  Pitman's.  The  six-shooting  revolver  was 
invented  at  Brattleboro  fourteen  years  before  Colt's 
weapon  was  made.  Last  but  not  least  in  its  beneficent 
influence  comes  the  modern  cook  stove,  the  creation  of 
P.  P.  Stewart  of  Pawlet. 

These  inventions,  like  the  new  order  of  manufacturing 
establishments,  were  not  for  local  needs.     They  appealed 


Chester  A.  Arthur 


jj<.  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

for  wider  application.  Thanks  to  developed  transporta- 
tion and  the  rapid  transmission  of  news,  Vermont  had 
got  in  touch  with  wider  needs  ;  she  had  gone  out  to  seek 
the  markets  of  the  world. 

E.    Education 

The  work  of  education  in  the  state  went  on  quietly, 
unobtrusively,  attracting  no  great  attention,  heralding  no 
startling  results;  yet  there  were  men  here  who  were  in 
a  sense  educational  prophets,  for  they  laid  the  founda- 
tion in  a  humble,  inconspicuous  way  for  some  of  the  most 
important  developments  of  our  American  educational 
ideals.  Transition  in  educational  aims  and  methods  con- 
sisted of  development  rather  than  change  up  to  the  time 
of  the  Civil  War. 

The  results  of  this  work  may  be  briefly  summed  up 
as  follows :  The  beginning  of  some  educational  system 
for  the  state,  including  supervision  ;  the  training  of  teach- 
ers ;  the  opening  of  special  schools  for  women ;  and  the 
growth  of  educational  institutions,  especially  academies, 
colleges,  and  military  schools.  Not  all  these  are  due 
to  public  or  state  enterprise.  Indeed,  in  such  matters, 
the  work  of  making  a  beginning,  as  well  as  the  con- 
ception of  the  ideals,  falls  often  to  the  lot  of  those  who 
are  full  of  service  for  others,  whose  vision  pierces  the 
future,  and  whose  hopes  are  reenforced  by  invincible 
confidence.  That  is,  they  are  teachers  in  the  real 
sense  of  the  word. 

At  first,  although  the  fathers  of  the  state  laid  the 
foundations  for  a  broad,  comprehensive  educational  sys- 
tem, there  was  little  done  to  perfect  such  a  system  in 


FROM   THE  WAR  OF    1S12   TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      227 

its  details.  The  separate  districts  had  their  own  way, 
secured  their  own  teachers,  and  paid  them  at  the  end  of 
the  term  without  supervision  or  oversight  by  town  or 
state  or  any  outside  authority.  The  inevitable  result 
of  such  a  method,  or  lack  of  method,  was  that  there  were 
no  guaranties  of  competent  instruction,  because  there 
was  no  standard  of  requirements  put  upon  the  teachers ; 
and  no  guaranties  of  equal  advantages  to  the  different 
schools,  because  there  was  no  efficient  supervision.  Some 
schools  might  be  good,  others  poor,  others  very  poor. 


A  Type  of  the  "Old  Red  Schoolhouse  " 

The  effort  to  inaugurate  a  system  began  to  bear  fruit 
about  1827,  when  it  was  proposed  that  a  board  of  com- 
missioners be  appointed  to  collect  and  disseminate  edu- 
cational information,  and  that  licenses  be  required  of 
teachers.  Both  recommendations  were  adopted  for  a 
few  years.  Then,  in  1845,  another  effort  was  made  to 
put  the  teaching  force  of  the  state  on  a  higher  level. 
The  plan  of  licenses  was  permanently  adopted;  schools 


228 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


were  put  under  the  supervision  of  town  and  county 
superintendents;  and  a  state  superintendent  of  educa- 
tion was  annually  appointed.  In  a  few  years  the  county 
superintendents  were  discontinued,  and  in  1 85 1  the 
state  superintendent  ceased  to  be  appointed.  Five 
years  later  the  state  board   of   education  was  created. 


Interior  of  the  "Old  Red  Schoolhouse 


These  efforts  were  tentative,  and  not  altogether  success- 
ful; yet  a  beginning  had  been  made  which  was  some 
approach  to  a  system  of  state  control. 

In  1823  Samuel  R.  Hall,  a  home  missionary  and 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  at  Concord,  in 
Essex  County,  established  a  seminary  for  the  training 
of  teachers.  It  was  incorporated  by  the  legislature  the 
same  fall.  In  1825  it  was  reincorporated  under  the  name 
of  the  Essex  County  Grammar  School.    Teachers'  classes 


FROM  THE  WAR  OF  1812   TO   THE  CIVIL  WAR      229 

were  formed,  and  a  special  course  of  study  was  arranged. 
In  1829  "Father"  Hall  published  a  volume  of  lectures 
on  school  keeping,  "  the  first  attempt  of  the  kind  on  the 
Western  Continent."  The  work  ran  through  several 
editions.  Ten  thousand  copies  were  sold  to  the  state  of 
New  York  and  distributed  through  the  school  districts 
of  that  state.  Mr.  Hall  also  introduced  the  use  of  the 
blackboard  into  schools,  organized  the  American  Insti- 
tute of  Instruction,  and  was  for 
a  time  principal  of  Andover 
Academy. 

The  Middlebury  Female 
Seminary,  which  had  been 
established  in  1800,  the  same 
year  as  the  college,  was  taken 
charge  of  in  1807  by  Miss 
Emma  Hart,  who  later  became 
Mrs.  Willard,  the  founder  of 
Troy  Female  Seminary,  which 

set    a    hicrh    standard    for   the   TT  „  „ 

0  Hon.  George  E  Edmunds 

education   of    women.     A  few 

years  later,    in  18 14,  she  opened  a  school  at  her  own 

home. 

The  State  Teachers'  Association  was  organized  in 
1850;  endowed  libraries  began  to  appear;  some  of  the 
schools  of  academic  grade  were  founded  which  have 
lasted  on,  doing  good  work  to  the  present  time  ;  the 
work  of  the  colleges  went  on  nobly.  Among  the  gradu- 
ates of  Middlebury  College  were  young  men  who  were 
destined  to  make  educators,  authors,  scholars,  statesmen, 
and    college  presidents.     The   University  of   Vermont 


230  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

began  to  send  forth  youth  who  were  to  fill  offices 
of  state, — judges  of  higher  courts,  members  of  Con- 
gress, governors  of  Vermont,  and  even  one  Vice-Presi- 
dent, —  besides  college  presidents  and  many  college  and 
seminary  instructors.  Norwich  University,  the  oldest 
military  college  in  this  country  with  the  exception  of 
West  Point,  was  established  in  1820.  Its  graduates 
served  in  the  second  Seminole  War,  and  have  served 
in  every  subsequent  war  of  the  country.  No  less  than 
two  hundred  and  seventy-three  commissioned  officers 
from  this  institution  served  in  the  Mexican  and  Civil  wars. 

Two  men  who  long  honored 
their  state  and  the  nation  in  the 
Senate  chamber  at  Washington 
,/  put    themselves    on    record    as 

champions  of  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation in  no  narrow  or  mean 
sense.  George  F.  Edmunds  was 
the  great  exponent  of  a  national 
university  at  Washington ;  Justin 
S.  Morrill  successfully  labored 
for  the  establishment  of  agricul- 
tural colleges  in  all  the  states. 

IIo.x.  Justin  S.  Morrill      ^,  1  r     ozr 

The  congressional  grant  of  1 860 

to  provide  education  in  the  agricultural  and  mechanical 
arts  in  every  state  in  the  Union  was  the  most  important 
single  educational  enactment  ever  passed  in  America. 
This  act  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  perpetuate  Senator 
Morrill's  name  as  the  author  of  what  is  destined  to  be 
the  most  practical,  democratic,  and  beneficent  educa- 
tional work  of  this  country. 


FROM   THE  WAR  OF  1812  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR      23 1 

The  Impending  Crisis 

While  our  state  was  thus  passing  through  manifold 
and  important  changes,  the  United  States  had  come  to 
the  worst  experience  that  can  ever  face  a  government, 
—  the  storm  and  stress  of  a  great  civil  war.  When  a 
country  is  attacked  from  without,  its  people  flock  together 
to  support  the  common  cause,  and  thus  form  a  more  com- 
pact and  cohesive  union  within.  But  when  a  country 
begins  to  break  up  within,  and  envy,  hatred,  and  strife 
fill  the  hearts  of  its  people,  woe  be  it !  The  saying 
is  very  old  and  very  true  that  a  house  divided  against 
itself  shall  not  stand.  This  is  the  third  time  in  the 
history  of  the  state  that  we  have  had  to  stop  in  our  study 
of  its  development  to  follow  the  consequences  of  war  in 
which  it  has  been  involved  by  the  course  of  national 
politics.  The  other  two  wars  were  wars  to  defend  so- 
called  rights  from  foreign  aggression.  This  one  is  a 
war  to  preserve  the  Union  from  the  disruptive  forces 
which  have  long  been  acting  within. 

Since  the  early  settlement  of  these  American  colonies 
the  keeping  of  slaves  had  been  a  part  of  their  history. 
There  had  been  white  slaves  and  black  slaves,  slaves  in 
the  North  and  slaves  in  the  South.  But  white  servi- 
tude had  never  been  so  prevalent  as  that  of  negroes, 
and  the  terms  by  which  whites  were  bound  to  forced 
labor  allowed  them  to  work  out  their  freedom  in  a  given 
term  of  years.  So  white  servitude  outgrew  itself  in 
time.  Not  so  with  negro  slavery.  A  black  slave  was 
a  slave  for  life,  and  all  his  children.  All  children  of 
the  mother,  too,  were  slaves,  although  the  father  might 


232  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

be  white.  A  drop  of  negro  blood  was  like  the  mark  of 
Cain,  —  it  tainted  the  man  for  life. 

Negro  slavery,  therefore,  was  self-perpetuating.  It 
would  last  as  long  as  the  negro  race  endured.  In  the 
North,  for  climatic  and  economic  reasons,  black  slavery 
had  but  a  slight  hold  ;  but  in  the  South  all  the  condi- 
tions were  favorable  for  it,  and  it  became  so  strongly 
rooted  in  the  social  and  economic  order  of  things  that 
it  was  not  easily  dislodged.  The  men  who  formed  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  should  have  pre- 
vented this.  They  saw  slavery  as  a  cloud  on  the  hori- 
zon of  national  politics.  It  was  a  little  cloud  then,  no 
larger  than  a  man's  hand,  but  it  certainly  should  have 
needed  no  prophet  Elijah  to  tell  them  this  cloud  would 
brew  a  storm  of  blood.  They  had  written  in  their  own 
Declaration  that  all  men  were  created  free  and  equal ; 
they  should  have  made  that  principle  true  to  the  very 
letter  in  their  new  State,  if  they  believed  it  to  be  true 
for  themselves. 

Slave  trading  from  Africa  ceased  to  be  legal ;  but 
smuggling  of  slaves  began,  and  but  one  conviction 
ever  occurred  in  the  history  of-  the  country.  When  the 
importation  from  Africa  fell  off,  the  matter  was  in  no 
wise  helped  ;  for  in  the  northern  tier  of  slaveholding 
states  negroes  were  bred,  taken  to  the  South  like  droves 
of  cattle,  and  like  cattle  sold  at  the  auction  block.  So 
the  thing  went  on,  till  men  had  vast  estates  in  slaves 
and  little  else.  A  plantation  was  worth  nothing  without 
slaves  to  work  it.  Skilled  slaves  were  worth  hundreds 
of  dollars  each  ;  and  a  Southern  man  could  not  see  why 
his  slaves  —  his  sole  support  —  should  be  taken  from 


FROM    THE   WAR  OF  1812   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR       233 

him  any  more  than  a  Northern  man  could  have  seen 
the  justice  of  taking  away  his  less  valuable  horses  or 
cattle  or  sheep. 

The  larger  the  country  grew  the  larger  grew  this 
question  with  it.  It  got  into  politics  and  saturated 
every  public  measure.  Instead  of  settling  it,  the  poli- 
ticians temporized,  procrastinated,  and  compromised. 
The  issue  grew  and  grew  until  it  passed  the  point  of 
any  more  compromises,  and  then  war  came. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    CIVIL    WAR 

I  am  desirous  to  learn  your  views  as  to  the  expediency  of  legisla- 
tion in  the  Free  States  at  the  present  time  touching  the  affairs  of  the 
General  Government  and  the  action  of  certain  Southern  States.  .  .  . 
Should  the  plans  of  the  Secessionists  in  South  Carolina  and  the  cotton 
States  be  persevered  in  and  culminate  in  the  design  to  seize  upon  the 
National  Capital,  will  it  be  prudent  to  delay  a  demonstration  on  the 
part  of  the  Free  States  assuring  the  General  Government  of  their 
united  cooperation  in  putting  down  rebellion  and  sustaining  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  dignity  of  the  United  States  Government  ?  —  Extract 
from  a  letter  of  Governor  Erastus  Fairbanks  to  the  governor  of  Con- 
necticut in  1861. 

Vermont's  Status  on  the  Slavery  Question 

The  position  of  Vermont  on  the  question  of  human 
slavery  has  never  been  equivocal.  Her  official  expres- 
sion on  the  matter  was  made  in  the  very  first  article  of 
her  constitution  in  the  following  words: 

No  male  person  born  in  this  country,  or  brought  from  over 
sea,  ought  to  be  holden  by  law  to  serve  any  person  as  a  servant, 
slave,  or  apprentice,  after  he  arrives  to  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  nor  female  in  like  manner,  after  she  arrives  to  the  age  of 
eighteen  years,  unless  they  are  bound  by  their  own  consent,  after 
they  arrive  to  such  age,  or  bound  by  law  for  the  payment  of  debts, 
damages,  fines,  costs,  or  the  like. 

Before  the  constitution  had  been  distributed  the 
officers  of  the  new  state  began  to  interpret  the  spirit  of 
this  article  ;  and  from  the  time  when  Ebenezer  Allen 
in    1778  freed  the   slave  Dinah   Mattis,  who  had  been 

234 


THE    CIVIL   WAR  235 

taken  among  the  prisoners  of  a  raid  near  Ticonderoga, 
and  gave  her  a  certificate  of  her  emancipation  duly 
recorded  in  the  ofhce  of  the  town  clerk  at  Benning- 
ton, down  to  the  President's  call  for  troops,  Vermont 
had  stood  stanchly  for  the  freedom  of  man.  In  1803 
Judge  Harrington  of  the  Supreme  Court  said  that  a 
bill  of  sale  from  Almighty  God  was  the  necessary  proof 
that  one  man  could  hold  another  as  his  slave. 

In  1828  the  abolitionist  William  Lloyd  Garrison  was 
at  Bennington,  editing  the  Journal  of  tJie  Times,  which, 
although  run  primarily  for  campaign  purposes  in  the 
political  race  of  John  Ouincy  Adams  against  Andrew 
Jackson  for  the  presidency,  showed  unmistakably  the 
trend  of  its  editor's  views  on  the  slavery  question. 
Garrison  announced  as  one  of  the  great  objects  of  his 
life  the  emancipation  of  slaves.  Clear  and  vehement 
were  his  utterances.  "  We  are  resolved  to  agitate  this 
subject  to  the  utmost,"  said  Garrison;  and  he  sent  to 
Congress  a  petition  signed  by  twenty-three  hundred 
and  fifty-two  citizens  of  this  state  requesting  Con- 
gress to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
The  government  of  that  district  rested  with  Congress, 
and  it  was  literally  true  that  negroes  were  driven  to 
market  past  the  doors  of  the  national  capitol  wherein 
sat  the  chosen  apostles  of  American  liberty ;  but  the 
appeal  was  ahead  of  the  times. 

Public  men  in  the  state  kept  an  anxious  eye  on  the 
great  lurid  cloud  of  national  politics.  Time  passed  with- 
out bringing  war,  until  in  1861  the  governor  of  the 
state  wrote  to  the  governor  of  one  of  the  neighboring 
states   on   the  duty  of  the   North   in  this  issue.     This 


236  HISTORY    OF    VKRMONT 

action  of  the  chief  executive  of  the  state  shows  that  he 
was  fully  abreast  of  the  times  and  aware  of  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  action  of  the  South  in  this  great  crisis. 

Vermont's  Preparation  for  the  War 

When  President  Lincoln  issued  his  call  for  troops, 
Vermont  presented  no  exception  to  the  other  Northern 
states  in  lack  of  adequate  preparation  for  even  the 
slightest  military  service.  It  seemed  as  if  the  entire 
North  lay  in  a  state  of  lethargy.  Federal  forts  and 
arsenals  had  been  appropriated  by  Southern  militiamen ; 
state  after  state  had  passed  ordinances  of  secession; 
they  even  invaded  the  North  and  transferred  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  thousand  stand  of  arms  from  the  heart 
of  New  England  1  to  Southern  depots,  and  no  one  lifted 
a  finger  to  stop  it. 

After  the  War  of  1812  military  drills  had  been  kept 
up  for  a  time,  after  a  fashion  ;  but  the  martial  spirit 
flagged  before  the  tasks  of  peaceful  industry,  and  after 
1845  there  was  hardly  a  semblance  of  military  organi- 
zation left  within  the  state.  The  state  had  given  up 
making  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  militia. 
One  by  one  the  uniformed  companies  had  disbanded, 
and  June  trainings  became  a  jest  and  sport  for  the 
countryside. 

From  1858  to  i860  public  interest  in  the  militia  began 
to  be  aroused.  By  the  close  of  the  latter  year  there 
were  several  organized  companies  again  in  existence, 
nominally  forming  a  brigade  of  four  regiments.     They 

1  From  the  United  States  Arsenal  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 


THE   CIVIL   WAR  237 

had  as  arms  smooth-bore  percussion  and  flintlock  mus- 
kets!  On  New  Year's  day,  1861,  the  state  possessed 
less  than  a  thousand  stand  of  arms,  seven  six-pound 
fieldpieces,  five  hundred  and  three  Colt's  pistols  of  no 
use  whatever,  and  about  a  hundred  tents.  One  regi- 
ment could  be  equipped  with  superannuated  stuff. 

On  the  1 2th  of  April,  that  same  year,  the  booming 
of  cannon  sounded  through  Charleston  Harbor.  Fort 
Sumter,  one  of  the  three  or  four  military  posts  in  the 
South  which  remained  in  federal  possession,  was  fired 
upon.  In  two  days  the  garrison  surrendered.  President 
Lincoln's  call  for  troops  was  sent  broadcast  through  the 
North,  and  war  was  on. 

Now  witness  a  change.  No  longer  the  North  was  sleep- 
ing. Mass  meetings  and  flag  raisings  were  so  numerous 
that  the  newspapers  could  not  find  space  to  tell  of  them. 
From  every  public  building  flew  the  stars  and  stripes, 
and  from  private  buildings,  too,  so  long  as  flags  could 
be  obtained,  or  red,  white,  and  blue  bunting  could  be 
had  for  love  or  money.  A  public  meeting  was  held  at 
Burlington  on  the  18th  of  April,  in  the  town  hall;  but 
hundreds  were  turned  away  from  the  doors,  unable  to 
find  room  within.  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh,  then  on  the 
eve  of  his  departure  as  United  States  minister  to  Italy, 
was  the  principal  speaker.  As  he  addressed  the  crowded 
hall,  from  one  of  the  galleries  were  flung  the  broad  folds 
of  the  stars  and  stripes ;  in  an  instant  the  audience  were 
on  their  feet,  in  a  contagion  of  enthusiasm  and  emotion, 
cheering,  shouting,  and  crying  like  children. 

Meantime  men  and  money  were  offered  all  over  the 
state.      Private  persons  offered  to  the  state  sums  ranging 


238 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


*■ 


£H 


all  the  way  from  one  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars each.  Towns  voted  to  raise  money  on  their  grand 
list,  and  subscribed  to  equip  the  militia  and  support 
the  families  of  volunteers.  Banks  at  Montpelier  placed 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  each  at  the  disposal  of 
the  governor  to  equip  the  troops  ;  at  Burlington  and 
St.  Albans  they  offered  ten  per  cent  of  their  capital,  and 
more  if   needed.     The   students   of  the   University  of 

Vermont  and  Middlebury 
College  organized  into  com- 
panies and  began  to  drill. 
Railroad  and  transportation 
companies  offered  their  lines 
and  boats  for  the  gratuitous 
transportation  of  troops  and 
munitions  of  war.  Wherever 
companies  were  forming,  the 
women  labored  to  make  uni- 
forms for  the  recruits. 

So  much  for  public  opinion. 
The  officers  of  the  state  had 
not  been  idle.  When  the 
President  called  for  troops 
Governor  Fairbanks  at  once  issued  a  proclamation 
announcing  the  outbreak  of  armed  rebellion,  called  for 
a  special  session  of  the  legislature,  and  for  a  regiment 
for  immediate  service. 

We  have  seen  that  there  was  not  a  regiment  in  the 
state  ready  to  march.  But  when  the  field  officers  of 
the  militia  met  at  Burlington  on  the  19th  of  the  month 
to  select  the  companies  which  should  make  up  the  first 


Erastus     Fairbanks 

The  First  "  War  Governor  "  of 
Vermont 


THE    CIVIL  WAR  239 

regiment  of  Vermont  volunteers  it  was  reported  that 
eight  companies  —  from  Bradford,  Brandon,  Burlington, 
Northfield,  Rutland,  St.  Albans,  Swanton,  and  Wood- 
stock—  were  substantially  filled  and  in  efficient  condi- 
tion. Other  companies  were  in  partial  readiness,  and 
preparations  were  everywhere  being  made. 

The  special  session  of  the  legislature  had  been  called 
for  the  25th  of  April.  The  members  were  greeted 
at  the  capitol  with  the  roar  of  the  two  brass  field- 
pieces  which  Stark  had  taken  from  the  Hessians  at 
the  battle  of  Bennington  pouring  out  the  national 
salute  of  thirty-four  guns.  Within  twenty-four  hours 
both  houses  had  passed  by  unanimous  vote  an  appro- 
priation of  one  million  dollars  for  war  expenses.  In 
forty -two  hours  from  the  time  it  met  the  legislature 
adjourned,  with  its  work  completed.  It  had  passed 
acts  providing  for  the  organizing,  arming,  and  equip- 
ping of  six  more  regiments  for  two  years'  service  — 
the  government  had  called  for  only  three  months' 
troops  —  and  had  voted  seven  dollars  per  month  pay 
in  addition  to  the  thirteen  dollars  offered  by  the 
government ;  had  provided  for  the  relief  of  the  fam- 
ilies of  volunteers  in  cases  of  destitution,  and  had 
laid  the  first  war  tax, — ten  cents  on  the  dollar  of 
the  grand  list. 

This  work  was  without  precedent,  and  was  equalled 
by  the  records  of  but  few  states.  Vermont  had  voted 
for  the  war  an  appropriation  of  a  larger  sum  than  had 
been  voted  by  any  other  state  in  proportion  to  the  popu- 
lation, and  had  made  provision  for  her  sons  and  their 
families,  which  took  from  first  to  last  four  millions  from 


240  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

the  treasury  of  the  state,  to  say  nothing  of  the  other 
expenses  of  the  war. 

Commissions  for  the  recruiting  troops  were  issued  by 
the  governor  on  the  7th  of  May,  and  three  days  later 
the  services  of  fifty  full  companies  were  offered  to  the 
government,  —  more  than  twice  as  many  as  it  was  then 
ready  to  accept. 

Vermont  Troops  in  Service 

The  Civil  War  practically  involved,  the  conquest  of 
the  South.  In  point  of  military  tactics,  therefore,  it  had 
to  be  an  offensive  war  on  the  part  of  the  Union  forces, 
and  was,  conversely,  defensive  on  the  part  of  the  South- 
ern army,  with  the  exception  of  Lee's  projected  invasion 
of  the  North. 

The  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi  River 
cut  the  field  of  action  into  three  great  sections.  The 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  made  important  naval 
operations  possible  in  the  West,  and  there  the  Federal 
forces  were  almost  uniformly  successful.  Not  so  in  the 
East.  The  scene  of  conflict  was  here  mainly  in  Vir- 
ginia, which  was  for  four  years  the  battle  ground  of 
two  armies:  one  —  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — trying 
to  defend  Washington,  conquer  Virginia,  and  capture 
Richmond  ;  the  other  —  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
—  trying  to  defend  Richmond  and  Virginia,  attack 
Washington,   and   invade   Maryland  and   Pennsylvania. 

It  was  on  this  ground,  in  the  region  around  and 
between  the  two  capitals,  Washington  and  Richmond, 
where    the    fighting    came    thick    and    fast,    that    the 


THE    CIVIL    WAR 


24 


Vermont  troops  rendered  the  heaviest  part  of  their 
service  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

The  First  Regiment  was  ordered  at  once  into  service ; 
for,  said  General  Scott,  "  I  want  your  Vermont  regi- 
ments, all  of  them.  I  have  not  forgotten  the  Vermont 
men  on  the  Niagara  frontier."  So  they  went  forward. 
Their  term  of  enlistment  expired  in  August  of  the 
same  year,  for  it  was  not  anticipated  that  the  war  would 
be  of  long  duration,  and  the  President's  call  was  for  only 
three  months'  service.  But  their  service  did  not  end ; 
for  when  the  period  of  this  regiment's  enlistment  expired 
five  out  of  every  six  of  its  rank  and  file  reenlisted  ; 
the  field,  staff,  and  line  officers  returned  to  the  serv- 
ice almost  to  a  man  ;  and  no  less  than  one  hundred 
and  sixty-one  of  its  members  became  officers  in  Ver- 
mont regiments  and  batteries  which  were  afterward 
organized. 

In  the  fall  of  1861  the  Second,  Third,  Fourth,  Fifth, 
and  Sixth  regiments  were  formed  into  the  Vermont 
Brigade,  as  it  was  then  called  ;  and  later,  when  a  second 
brigade  was  formed  of  regiments  subsequently  enlisted, 
it  was  known  as  the  First  Vermont  Brigade,  or  the  "  Old 
Brigade."  It  will  be  absolutely  impossible  to  follow 
the  history  of  these  troops  in  all  their  service.  Indeed 
it  would  tax  our  limits  to  tell  the  history  of  any  one 
regiment.  For  instance,  Benedict,  in  his  history,  Ver- 
mont in  the  Civil  War,  which  is  our  authority  for  this 
period,  says  of  the  Second  Regiment : 

"It  had  a  share  in  almost  every  battle  fought  by  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  from  the  first  Bull  Run  to  the  surrender  of  Lee ; 
and  its  quality  as  a  fighting  regiment  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 


242  HIS  TORY    OF    VERMONT 

its  list  of  killed  and  wounded  in  action  numbered  no  less  than  seven 
hundred  and  fifty-one,  or  forty  per  cent  of  its  aggregate  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  officers  and  men  ;  while  its  ratio  of  killed 
and  mortally  wounded  was  more  than  eight  times  the  general  ratio 
of  killed  and  mortally  wounded  in  the  Union  army. 

In  March,  1862,  McClellan,  then  in  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  began  what  is  known  as  the 
Peninsular  campaign,  a  plan  to  advance  on  Richmond, 
the  Confederate  capital,  from  the  east.  He  was  slow 
in  moving,  and  found  the  Confederates  ready  for  him, 
fortified  at  every  point.  By  the  end  of  May  he  had 
succeeded  in  getting  within  ten  miles  of  Richmond  ;  but 
Lee  and  "Stonewall"  Jackson  attacked  him  so  per- 
sistently that  he  decided  to  withdraw,  and  then  they 
continued  hammering  away  at  him  during  the  seven 
days'  retreat.  This  campaign  gave  the  Vermont  troops 
plenty  of  service.  They  took  part  in  engagements  at 
Lee's  Mill,  Williamsburg,  Golding's  Farm,  Savage's 
Station,  and  White  Oak  Swamp. 

The  battle  of  Lee's  Mill  was  one  of  the  bloodiest  in 
proportion  to  numbers  in  which  our  troops  took  part 
during  the  war.  The  first  assault  on  the  enemy's  works 
was  made  by  the  Third  Vermont  Regiment,  four  com- 
panies of  which,  led  by  Captain  Samuel  E.  Pingree  (later 
a  governor  of  the  state),  made  a  daring  dash  across  War- 
wick Creek,  assaulting  and  carrying  the  rifle  pits  of  the 
enemy. 

After  McClellan  had  decided  to  abandon  the  siege  of 
Richmond  and  to  retreat,  the  Vermont  troops  once  more 
rendered  brilliant  service  in  the  battle  of  Savage's  Sta- 
tion.    The  importance  of  this  action  becomes  apparent 


THE   CIVIL   WAR  243 

when  we  learn  that  the  success  of  McClellan's  retreat 
depended  first  of  all  on  getting  an  army  of  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  men,  with  an  immense  army  train 
of  five  thousand  wagons,  through  the  White  Oak  Swamp. 
This  great  natural  barrier  stretched  half  way  across  the 
peninsula  south  of  Richmond,  squarely  across  his  line 
of  retreat,  and  was  passable  only  through  one  narrow 
way.  The  stand  of  the  rear  guard,  therefore,  at  Savage's 
Station  was,  as  Benedict  says,  "a  notable  passage  in 
the  history  of  the  Peninsular  campaign,  and  the  battle 
will  ever  be  memorable  to  Vermonters  as  that  in  which 
one  of  our  regiments,  the  Fifth,  suffered  the  greatest 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded  ever  sustained  by  a  Vermont 
regiment  in  action." 

The  Fifth  Regiment  had  orders  to  advance  through 
the  woods  in  front  of  them.  A  regiment  of  Union  troops 
recently  recruited  had  thrown  themselves  on  the  ground 
in  the  woods  and  refused  to  advance.  They  were  under 
fire  for  the  first  time.  The  men  of  the  Fifth  Vermont 
walked  over  them  and  marched  on.  "I  remember  as 
if  it  were  yesterday,"  said  one  of  the  sergeants,  "  the 
way  we  tramped  over  that  line  of  cringing  men,  cursing 
them  roundly  for  their  cowardice."  The  enemy's  battery 
was  raking  the  woods  with  a  terrible  fire,  but  the  regi- 
ment went  on  into  the  open  field.  They  kept  on  till 
they  met  the  enemy,  made  a  bayonet  charge,  then  halted 
and  opened  fire  on  the  infantry  line  across  the  hollow  in 
front  of  them. 

Meanwhile  they  were  themselves  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  two  regiments,  a  battery  of  grape  and  canister,  and  a 
raking  cross  fire  of  musketry  from  the  edge  of  the  woods 


244  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

to  their  left.  In  twenty  minutes  every  other  man  in 
line  had  been  killed  or  wounded.  And  yet  the  regiment 
held  its  position,  silenced  the  enemy  in  front,  and  did 
not  go  back  until  hours  afterward,  when  it  was  ordered 
to  the  rear  with  the  brigade.  The  men  had  sixty  rounds 
of  cartridges  and  used  them  all,  taking  the  guns  of  their 
fallen  comrades  when  their  own  became  heated.  The 
surgeon  who  visited  the  field  the  next  day  said  in  a 
letter :  "  Thirty  men  of  the  Fifth  Vermont  were  found 
lying  side  by  side,  dressed  in  as  perfect  a  line  as  for  a 
dress  parade,  who  were  all  stricken  down  by  one  dis- 
charge of  grape  and  canister  from  the  enemy's  battery." 
One  company  had  three  commissioned  officers  and  fifty- 
six  men  in  line  ;  seven  came  out  unharmed.  Of  the  rest, 
twenty-five  were  killed  or  died  of  their  wounds. 

The  second  eastern  campaign  of  1862 — the  second 
Bull  Run  campaign  —  resulted  in  the  Union  army  being 
driven  back  toward  Washington  and  the  Confederates 
being  emboldened  to  carry  the  war  into  the  North. 
Then  came  the  storming  of  Crampton's  Gap  and  the 
battle  of  Antietam,  and  more  good  work  by  the  Vermont 
troops. 

The  Fourth  Regiment  especially  distinguished  itself 
at  the  storming  of  Crampton's  Gap,  where  on  Sep- 
tember 14  it  captured,  on  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  a 
Confederate  major,  five  line  officers,  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  men,  and  the  colors  of  the  Sixteenth  Virginia. 
These  colors  are  preserved  among  the  trophies  of  the 
War  Department  at  Washington. 

A  war  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
reported  the  following  from  Antietam  : 


THE    CIVIL   WAR  245 

Smith  was  ordered  to  retake  the  cornfields  and  woods  which 
had  been  so  hotly  contested.  It  was  done  in  the  handsomest  style. 
His  Maine  and  Vermont  regiments  and  the  rest  went  forward  on 
the  run,  and,  cheering  as  they  went,  swept  like  an  avalanche 
through  the  cornfield,  fell  upon  the  woods,  cleared  them  in  ten 
minutes,  and  held  them.  They  were  not  again  retaken.  The 
field  and  its  ghastly  harvest  remained  with  us.  Four  times  it  had 
been  lost  and  won.  The  dead  are  strewn  so  thickly  that  as  you 
ride  over  it  you  cannot  guide  your  horse's  steps  too  carefully. 

After  the  bloody  battle  of  Antietam  McClellan  was 
superseded  in  command  by  General  Burnside.  The  Con- 
federates fortified  Marye's  Heights,  behind  Fredericks- 
burg, on  the  south  side  of  the  Rappahannock.  The 
position  was  almost  impregnable,  but  Burnside  attacked 
it,  only  to  be  repulsed  with  a  terrible  loss.  "  Fighting 
Joe  "  Hooker  was  then  placed  in  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

From  the  middle  of  December,  1862,  to  the  end  of 
the  following  April  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  remained 
quietly  in  camp  opposite  Fredericksburg,  and  the  Con- 
federates retained  their  strong  position  on  Marye's 
Heights.  At  length  Hooker  began  to  operate.  In  the 
storming  of  Marye's  Heights,  May  3,  1863,  at  the  second 
battle  of  Fredericksburg,  the  Vermont  brigade  accom- 
plished more  than  ever  before  to  establish  its  reputation 
as  a  fighting  brigade.  A  New  Jersey  officer  describes 
the  taking  of  Marye's  Heights  as  follows  : 

As  we  approached  the  foot  of  the  hills,  we  could  see  the  rebel 
gunners  limbering  up  their  pieces.  The  Second  Vermont,  which 
had  got  a  little  ahead  of  us,  were  now  moving  up  the  steep  slope 
on  our  right,  in  beautiful  line ;  and  presently  we  also  commenced 
the  ascent.    A  terrible  volley  thinned  the  ranks  of  the  Vermonters  ; 


246  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

but  they  pressed  on,  and  the  enemy  began  to  give  way.  As  we 
reached  the  top  of  the  hill  we  could  see  the  flying  foe,  crossing 
through  a  gully  and  ascending  the  rise  of  ground  opposite.  The 
terrible  Fredericksburg  Heights  had  been  captured. 

The  heights  were  carried  so  rapidly  that  the  Con- 
federate general,  Jubal  Early,  who  had  the  greater  part 
of  his  division  within  supporting  distance,  could  not 
reenforce  his  lines  in  time  to  save  them.  Benedict  says  : 
"  No  similar  assault  on  the  Southern  side  during  the  war 
equaled  this  in  brilliancy  and  success  ;  and  in  these 
respects  it  was  surpassed  on  the  Northern  side,  if  at 
all,  only  by  Lookout  Mountain  and  the  final  storming  of 
Lee's  lines  at  Petersburg."  The  regiments  moved  with 
the  precision  of  ordinary  drill,  none  rushing,  none  lagging. 
Nevertheless  Lee  outgeneraled  Hooker  at  Chancellors- 
ville  and  in  four  days  dealt  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
a  terrible  blow. 

He  again  decided  to  invade  the  North.  Then  came 
the  campaign  which  led  to  Gettysburg.  Lee  crossed 
the  Potomac  and  entered  Pennsylvania.  The  Army 
of  the  Potomac  kept  between  him  and  Washington. 
Hooker  was  succeeded  by  General  Meade.  On  July  1, 
1863,  the  armies  came  together  at  the  little  village  of 
Gettysburg,  and  the  Union  troops  being  driven  back  in 
a  bloody  battle  to  a  strong  position  known  as  Cem- 
etery Ridge,  Meade  determined  to  fight  the  decisive 
battle  there. 

On  the  next  day  the  Confederates  attacked  vigorously, 
drove  back  the  Union  left,  and  secured  a  position  which 
threatened  the  whole  line.  Meantime  the  Sixth  Corps, 
which  had  been  lying  quietly  at  Manchester,  some  thirty 


THE   CIVIL    WAR  247 

miles  from  the  scene  of  battle,  was  rushed  over  the 
Baltimore  and  Gettysburg  turnpike  in  the  most  rapid 
and  exciting  march  in  its  history.  The  fate  of  the 
army  and  indeed  the  outcome  of  the  whole  war  might 
depend  on  the  presence  of  these  troops.  It  was  then 
that  General  Sedgwick  gave  his  famous  order  :  "  Put 
the  Vermonters  ahead  and  keep  the  column  well  closed 
up."  They  had  a  reputation  for  marching  as  well  as 
for  fighting. 

At  General  Meade's  headquarters,  about  six  o'clock 
that  evening,  there  stood  an  anxious  group  of  officers. 
The  Confederates  had  been  forcing  back  the  Union 
left,  and  the  sound  of  battle  grew  louder  and  nearer. 
Presently  a  cloud  of  dust  appeared  down  the  Baltimore 
pike.  What  did  that  cloud  hide  ?  Had  the  enemy  gained 
the  rear  ?  As  the  officers  stood  looking  through  their 
field  glasses,  one  said  :  "  It  is  not  cavalry,  but  infantry. 
There  is  the  flag.     It  is  the  Sixth  Corps." 

During  the  next  day  and  the  final  day  of  the  battle 
the  Second  Vermont  Brigade  won  laurels  on  the  left 
center.  The  Confederates  were  driven  out  of  one  posi- 
tion on  the  extreme  right  of  the  Union  lines,  and  every 
attack  was  repelled.  Lee  determined  to  make  one  more 
assault,  and  sent  Pickett  with  fifteen  thousand  men 
against  the  Union  center.  They  were  repulsed  with 
awful  loss.  The  fate  of  the  charge  was  sealed  by 
the  flank  attack  of  Stannard's  brigade.  Veazey  and  the 
Sixteenth  Vermont  Regiment  charged  upon  and  dis- 
persed two  Confederate  brigades  under  Wilcox.  This 
action  closed  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Lee's  invasion 
of  the  North  was  ended. 


248  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

General  Grant,  who  had  been  winning  brilliant  suc- 
cesses in  the  Western  campaign,  was  now  placed  in  entire 
charge  of  the  Union  armies;  Sherman  began  his  famous 
march  to  the  sea;  Thomas  destroyed  Hood's  army;  and 
Grant,  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  took  up  again  in 
May,  1864,  the  task  of  destroying  Lee's  army  and  taking 
Richmond. 

Then  followed  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsyl- 
vania,  Cold  Harbor,  and  Petersburg.  A  thousand  Ver- 
monters  were  killed  or  wounded  in  the  first  day's  fight- 
ing of  the  Wilderness  campaign.  Two  hundred  fell  the 
second  day.  The  Third  Regiment  went  into  the  first 
day's  fight  with  about  five  hundred  muskets,  and  in  the 
next  month's  fighting  lost  two  out  of  every  three  men. 

The  Fourth  Regiment  fought  at  Spottsylvania  in  the 
front  line.  At  Cold  Harbor  it  was  again  engaged.  In 
the  movement  to  Petersburg  it  suffered  the  greatest  loss 
by  capture  that  it  ever  experienced.  Out  of  two  hun- 
dred men  taken  to  the  skirmish  line,  but  sixty-seven 
answered  to  the  roll  call  the  next  morning,  with  three 
commissioned  officers.  Nearly  one  half  of  the  captured 
men  died  in  Confederate  prisons.  The  colors  were  saved. 
Although  it  was  only  one  of  thirty-two  infantry  brigades, 
the  Vermont  brigade  suffered  one  tenth  of  the  entire  loss 
of  Grant's  army  in  killed  and  wounded  in  the  Wilderness 
campaign. 

Lee  forestalled  Grant  and  occupied  Petersburg.  Grant 
sat  down  to  a  nine  months'  siege  before  it.  Lee  stood 
the  pressure  until  it  became  intolerable;  then  he  sent 
one  of  his  ablest  generals,  Jubal  Early,  with  a  detach- 
ment  to  penetrate  the   Shenandoah   Valley  and   seize 


THE    CIVIL   WAR  249 

Washington,  thinking  that  this  might  divert  Grant. 
Grant  gave  Sheridan  forty  thousand  men  and  sent  him 
after  Early.  Early  reached  Washington,  but  was  just 
a  little  too  late  to  seize  it;  while  Sheridan  on  this  Shen- 
andoah campaign  drove  the  Confederates  back,  destroyed 
everything  eatable  that  could  be  found  to  support  an  army, 
and  rejoined  Grant  at  Petersburg  in  November,  1864. 

In  this  campaign  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Vermont 
troops  did  good  service;  they  shared  in  the  engagements 
at  Charlestown,  the  Opequan,  Winchester,  Fishers  Hill, 
and  Cedar  Creek.  The  battle  of  the  Opequan  restored 
the  lower  valley  to  Union  control,  put  an  end  to  invasions 
in  Maryland  and  to  raids  against  the  national  capital. 
At  Cedar  Creek  what  looked  like  a  Confederate  victory 
was  turned  into  a  complete  rout,  upon  Sheridan's  appear- 
ance after  his  famous  ride  of  twenty  miles  from  Winches- 
ter. Out  of  a  total  of  forty-eight  guns  captured,  the 
First  Vermont  Cavalry  brought  in  twenty-three. 

Then  back  to  Petersburg.  As  soon  as  it  was  possi- 
ble to  move  in  the  following  spring  the  Northern  soldiers 
began  the  final  campaign  of  the  war.  The  South  was 
a  mere  shell.  Sherman  had  moved  at  will;  and  not  an 
important  seaport  remained  in  Southern  hands.  Grant, 
rejoined  by  Sheridan,  made  it  impossible  for  Lee  to  hold 
Richmond  any  longer.  The  South  had  put  every  fight- 
ing man  and  every  dollar  she  had  into  the  war.  Lee's 
army  dwindled  as  his  men  began  to  despair  of  their 
cause.  When  Sheridan  on  his  way  to  Jetersville  asked, 
"  Where  are  the  rebels?  "  an  old  colored  patriarch,  lean- 
ing on  the  fence,  replied,  "  Siftin'  souf,  sah;  siftin'  souf," 
with  a  smile  and  wave  of  his  hand.      The  Union  army 


250  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

outnumbered  the  Confederate  two  to  one.  Lee  tried  to 
escape  by  the  valley  of  the  Appomattox  to  the  mountains, 
hoping  possibly  to  unite  with  Johnston's  forces.  But  at 
last  the  Northern  soldiers  were  too  quick  for  him.  He 
was  caught  and  cornered  with  the  van  of  his  starving 
army  at  the  Appomattox  Courthouse.  He  surrendered, 
and  the  war  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  operations  which  led  to  the  end  Vermont 
troops  again  had  their  share.  The  Second  Regiment 
once  more  distinguished  itself  in  the  final  assault  on  the 
defenses  of  Petersburg,  with  many  instances  of  individ- 
ual gallantry.  A  portion  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  was 
the  first  to  carry  a  Union  flag  into  the  rebel  capital. 
After  the  fall  of  Richmond  the  Second  Regiment  joined 
in  the  pursuit  of  Lee,  and  in  a  skirmish  with  the  rear 
guard  on  the  evening  of  April  6  fired  the  last  shot 
discharged  in  action  by  the  Sixth  Corps.  The  Third 
Regiment  did  its  last  fighting  in  the  final  assault  on 
Petersburg.  This  regiment  lost  two  hundred  officers 
and  men  who  were  killed  or  died  of  wounds  received  in 
action,  and  many  more  died  of  disease  or  starvation 
while  prisoners  in  the  enemy's  hands.  The  Fifth  Regi- 
ment led  the  storming  column  when  the  Sixth  Corps 
broke  through  the  enemy's  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg 
on  the  2d  of  April,  and  first  planted  the  colors  of  the 
Sixth  Corps  on  the  enemy's  works.  The  final  state- 
ment of  the  regiment  shows  that  of  all  the  Vermont 
regiments  it  lost  the  largest  percentage  of  men  killed 
and  mortally  wounded  in  action. 

The  old  brigade  was  engaged  in  thirty  battles.  Not  one 
of  its  colors  fell  into  hostile  hands.     General  McMahon 


THE   CIVIL   WAR 


251 


said:  "  No  body  of  troops  in  or  out  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  made  their  record  more  gallantly,  sustained  it 
more  heroically,  or  wore  their  honors  more  modestly. 
The  Vermont  brigade  were  the  model  and  type  of  the 
volunteer  soldier." 

Besides  the  seventeen  infantry  regiments  which  Ver- 
mont sent  from  first  to  last  into  the  war,  she  sent  also 
three  batteries  of  light  artillery,  one  regiment  of  cavalry, 


The  Vermont  Soldiers'  Home  at  Bennington 


and  a  larger  proportion  of  sharpshooters  than  any  other 
state,  not  to  speak  of  the  Vermont  men  who  served  as 
staff  officers,  soldiers  in  the  regular  army,  and  as  privates 
and  commissioned  officers  in  other  states. 

Her  cavalry  regiment  was  raised  in  the  fall  of  1861, 
and  was  the  first  full  regiment  of  mounted  men  raised 
in  New  England.  It  was  the  largest  regiment  but  one 
sent  from  Vermont,  comprising  from  first  to  last  twenty- 
two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  officers  and  men.     It  had 


252 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


a  notable  history.  Previous  Vermont  regiments  had 
been  raised  by  state  authority;  the  cavalry  was  raised 
under  the  direct  authority  of  the  United  States. 
The  regiment  served  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  at 
Gettysburg,  in  the  Wilderness  campaign,  and  under 
Sheridan. 

The  organization  of  United  States  sharpshooters  was 
an  attempt  to  meet  the  marksmen  of  the  Confederates 
with  equally  skilled  shots  armed  with  long-range  rifles. 
They  were   a   distinct   branch   of    the   service.     There 

were  two  such 
regiments  raised 
in  the  first  year 
of  the  war,  of 
whose  total  num- 
ber this  state  fur- 
nished over  one 
sixth.  They 
shared  in  almost 
every  battle 
fought  by  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  made  a  brilliant  record,  sec- 
ond to  that  of  no  other  equal  number  of  enlisted  men. 

Some  of  Vermont's  sons  occupied  important  positions 
as  staff  officers.  To  them  fell  the  duties  of  keeping  the 
troops  supplied,  of  giving  the  soldiers  medical  and  sur- 
gical care,  of  keeping  regimental  and  brigade  and  corps 
accounts  and  records,  of  preparing  and  transmitting 
orders  in  camp  and  field. 

Vermont  had  a  higher  percentage  of  men  killed  in 
action  than  any  other  state,  while  the  percentage  of  the 


The  St.  Albans  Raid 

Demanding  Funds  at  the  Rank 


THE   CIVIL   WAR 


253 


old  brigade  was  higher  even  than  that  of  the  state.  The 
five  original  regiments  of  this  brigade  gave  4747  officers 
and  men  to  the  service  of  the  government  ;  4070  more 
were  added  to  these  during  the  war,  making  an  aggre- 
gate of  8817  officers  and  men.  The  total  wounded  was 
2328;  774  died  in  Union  hospitals;  578  were  killed  in 
action;  395  died  of  wounds;  135  died  in  Confederate 
prisons. 

Vermont  sent  to  the  war  ten  men  out  of  every  hun- 
dred of  her  popu- 
lation. She  was 
credited  with 
nearly  thirty- 
four  thousand 
volunteers,  out 
of  a  total  enroll- 
ment of  thirty- 
seven  thousand 
men  liable  to  do 
militia  duty. 
None  of  her 

colors  were  ever  yielded  in  action,  while  in  proportion 
to  total  numbers  her  troops  took  more  rebel  colors 
than  those  of  any  other  state.  In  1867  General  Sheri- 
dan, in  the  State  House  at  Montpelier,  said:  "When  I 
saw  these  old  flags  I  thought  I  ought  to  say  as  much 
as  this :  I  have  never  commanded  troops  in  whom  I  had 
more  confidence  than  I  had  in  Vermont  troops,  and  I 
do  not  know  but  I  can  say  that  I  never  commanded 
troops  in  whom  I  had  as  much  confidence  as  those  of 
this  gallant  state." 


The  St.  Albans  Raid 

Seizing  Horses  on  Main  Street 


254 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


With  one  more  incident  we  will  close  the  story  of 
the  war.  On  the  19th  of  October,  1864,  a  party  of 
strangers  came  into  the  village  of  St.  Albans  in  small 
squads,  scattered  about  the  place,  and  made  a  secret 
and  simultaneous  entrance  at  the  three  banks.  They 
closed  the  doors  of  the  banks,  made  the  inmates  prison- 
ers, relieved  the  institutions  of  their  available  assets, 
and  made  their  escape,  firing  pistols  promiscuously. 
They  also  attempted  to  set  fire  to  some  of  the  buildings. 

Excitement  was 
intense ;  it  was 
feared  that  the 
party  was  but  an 
advance  guard  of 
a  larger  invading 
host.  At  Mont- 
pelier,  where  the 
legislature  was  in 
session,  members 
gallantly  volun- 
teered to  serve  in 
military  capacity  to  repel  the  invaders.  But  no  invasion 
came.  A  party  was  hastily  formed,  and  started  after  the 
raiders,  following  them  into  Canada.  Two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  had  been  taken  from  the  banks.  Fourteen 
of  the  men  were  taken,  and  eighty-six  thousand  dollars 
were  recovered.  After  this  affair  two  companies  of 
cavalry  were  raised  to  protect  the  northern  frontier 
from  further  similar  invasion.  The  companies  were 
stationed  at  St.  Albans,  and  did  guard  duty  for  about 
six  months. 


The  St.  Albans  Raid 

The  Burning  of  Sheldon  Bridge 


CHAPTER  XII 
FROM   THE    CIVIL   WAR   TO   THE   SPANISH    WAR 

Effects  of  the  War 

Vermont  shared  in  the  general  disturbances  caused 
by  the  war,  and  it  was  many  years  before  the  direct 
traces  of  the  great  national  calamity  disappeared.  Busi- 
ness cannot  cease  when  war  is  in  progress,  because  the 
same  number  of  people  have  to  be  provided  for,  whether 
they  are  fighting  or  working.  They  must  eat,  be  clothed 
and  sheltered.  Since  the  armies  took  so  many  able- 
bodied  men  from  the  field  of  industry,  it  naturally  fol- 
lowed that  the  products  of  labor  grew  scarcer  and  the 
prices  of  it  rose.  And  as  prices  of  merchandise  rose 
the  correspondingly  greater  value  of  the  labor  of  the 
workers  became  apparent  and  wages  rose. 

Farm  values  went  up  along  with  the  general  rise  in 
prices,  for  the  products  of  the  farms  are  among  the 
first  necessities  of  life.  Stock,  cereals,  wool,  and  other 
farm  produce  went  rapidly  up  to  nearly  or  quite  double 
the  former  prices.  Some  farmers  took  advantage  of 
the  unusual  conditions  and  held  their  products  till  they 
reaped  large  profits ;  others  tried  the  same  experiment 
and  held  them  too  long,  until  prices  went  tumbling  down 
again.  The  wages  paid  to  farm  laborers  advanced,  and 
eventually  the  prices  of  farms  themselves. 

255 


256  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Along  with  the  derangement  of  values  went  financial 
derangement.  The  paper  money  which  was  issued  to 
tide  the  government  along  depreciated,  and  there  was 
as  high  a  premium  on  gold  as  on  anything  else.  The 
high  scale  of  prices  could  not  be  maintained  from  the 
very  nature  of  the  case,  because  it  was  due  to  causes 
which  were  not  going  to  operate  continuously.  The  war 
ended,  and  in  the  years  which  followed,  until  prices 
had  reached  their  normal  level,  there  was  a  decline  of 
values  which  operated  with  hardship  on  many.  Men 
who  thought  that  war  brought  them  wealth  found  that 
peace  brought  them  poverty.  Young  men  returning 
from  the  war,  and  buying  farms  at  the  inflated  prices 
which  prevailed,  soon  found  that  they  must  pay  for 
them  with  the  proceeds  of  labor,  farm  animals,  and 
crops  which  were  steadily  falling,  and  that  when  paid 
for  the  farm  itself  would  be  worth  only  a  fraction  of 
the  purchase  price.  Such  men  often  lost  everything 
they  had. 

Many  of  the  returning  veterans  sought  fortunes  in 
the  West  rather  than  attempt  to  take  up  life  again  in 
the  old  communities.  Little  had  been  saved  from  their 
pay  during  the  war  ;  many  had  families  at  home  to  be 
supported.  Middle-aged  men  found  themselves  forced 
to  begin  life  anew.  Some  were  too  shattered  in  health 
to  be  equal  to  the  task.  Some  took  up  soldiers'  rights  in 
western  lands  and  adapted  their  agricultural  knowledge 
to  new  conditions.  Others  went  back  to  the  old  farms. 
Still  others  engaged  in  manufacturing  and  business. 

The  westward  movement,  thus  stimulated  by  the  war, 
remained   active   for  another   reason.      So   long  as  our 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR      257 

interests  remained  agricultural,  any  increase  in  popu- 
lation beyond  a  certain  limit  was  bound  to  overflow, 
because  the  agricultural  density  of  population  is  not  yet 
great  in  America.  That  is,  when  people  live  on  farms 
they  are  not  so  thickly  placed  as  when  they  live  in  cities 
or  villages.  We  have  seen  that  Vermont  is  a  state  of 
farms  and  small  villages  rather  than  of  great  centers 
of  population.  Until  manufactures  increase  sufficiently 
to  support  large  villages  and  cities,  we  must  expect  to 
find  the  population  remaining  about  stationary  and  the 
natural  increase  of  our  families  going  away  to  other 
parts. 

If  you  look  at  the  census  returns  you  will  see  the 
extent  to  which  this  has  been  the  case.  From  i860  to 
1 870  the  state  showed  a  very  slight  increase  in  popula- 
tion ;  from  1S70  to  1880  it  dropped  still  lower,  being 
only  one  half  of  one  per  cent ;  while  from  1880  to  1890 
it  reached  low  ebb,  there  being  practically  no  gain  in 
population  for  the  decade.  From  1890  to  1900  it 
began  to  increase  very  slowly.  From  now  on  but  little 
gain  can  be  expected.  For  a  good  many  years  the 
agricultural  population  is  not  likely  to  reach  a  much 
greater  density;  while  the  additional  number  of  people 
who  can  be  supported  by  new  industries  is  so  slight  in 
comparison  with  the  total  population  of  the  state  that 
it  will  not  be  likely  to  have  a  large  percentage  of 
increase.  This  does  not  mean  that  Vermonters  are 
dying  out  ;  it  means  that  they  are  carrying  their 
influence  into  other  communities,  where  they  take  up 
the  battle  for  right  and  the  struggle  for  good  citizenship 
and  good  order. 


258  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

Growth  of  Industry 

Any  one  can  ascertain  the  extent  and  the  diversity  of 
the  industries  of  Vermont  by  looking  into  the  last  census 
report.  It  will  be  the  function  of  this  section,  there- 
fore, instead  of  attempting  to  describe  the  variety  which 
modern  life  has  imposed  upon  our  industrial  arts,  to 
point  out  some  less  apparent  features  in  the  develop- 
ment of  our  most  important  industries,  separately  and 
in  allied  groups. 

According  to  the  census  of  1900  the  ten  leading 
industries  of  the  state  are  :  factory  production  of  butter, 
cheese,  and  condensed  milk  ;  flouring  and  gristmilling  ; 
foundry  and  machine-shop  work ;  the  manufacture  of 
hosiery  and  knit  goods  ;  the  production  of  lumber  and 
timber ;  planing-mill  manufactures,  including  sashes, 
doors,  and  blinds  ;  marble  and  stone  work  ;  the  manu- 
facture of  monuments  and  tombstones  ;  the  making  of 
wood  pulp  and  paper  ;  and  wool  manufactures. 

Now,  if  you  will  observe  this  list,  you  will  notice  that 
certain  of  these  industries  —  and  they  are  the  most 
important  ones  —  deal  with  the  natural  products  of  the 
farms  and  the  forests. 

The  milling  of  cereals  had  not  changed  much,  but 
the  dairying  industry  has  been  profoundly  modified  by 
the  development  of  the  creamery  system.  It  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  intelligent  cooperation.  The  factory  turns 
out  a  uniform  product,  secures  a  market  for  it,  does  the 
accounting,  and  settles  with  the  farmer,  relieving  both 
him  and  his  wife  of  a  great  deal  of  bother,  and  securing 
for  the    consumer    a    better    article.      It    is   because   it 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR      259 

makes  both  the  dairyman  and  the  user  of  dairy  products 
better  off  that  this  industry  has  had  its  rapid  growth. 
The  development  of  fast  freight  and  express  facilities 
has  allowed  the  business  to  diversify,  and  the  sending 
of  milk,  of  pasteurized  milk,  and  of  cream  daily  to  the 
cities  has  grown  up.  Condensed-milk  factories  take  a 
portion  of  the  product  of  the  dairies  ;  while  other  farm 
products  like  corn  and  fruit  find  in  some  sections  of  the 
state  a  near-by  market  in  the  canning  factories. 

In  a  similar  way  a  great  change  has  come  over  the 
industries  which  deal  with  the  forest  resources  of  the 
state.  The  manufacturing  of  sashes,  doors,  blinds,  rough 
and  dressed  lumber  has  long  been  a  standard  occupation 
of  our  mills  ;  but  the  manufacture  of  paper  from  wood 
pulp  has  caused  a  tremendous  growth  of  the  pulp  and 
paper  business  in  the  state  since  the  Civil  War.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  spruce  of  New  England  now 
goes  into  wood  pulp.  Great  plants  with  costly  machin- 
ery are  established,  and  an  interest  in  practical  forestry 
is  aroused  with  a  view  to  the  permanence  of  the  busi- 
ness ;  for  the  great  cost  of  such  plants  does  not  allow 
their  abandonment  in  a  few  years,  like  an  old-fashioned, 
inexpensive  sawmill.  Farsighted  lumbermen,  therefore, 
are  attempting  plans  of  systematic  lumbering  which  will 
preserve  their  ranges  as  productive  estates  of  increasing 
value,  instead  of  leaving  them,  at  the  end  of  a  few  years, 
abandoned  wildernesses. 

There  is  an  increasing  tendency  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, as  in  other  enterprises,  to  do  more  finished  work 
near  the  place  where  the  raw  material  is  furnished. 
This  is  partly  because  it  is  expensive  to  pay  freights  on 


26o  HISTORY    UK   VERMONT 

waste  which  is  to  be  taken  off  in  dressing  lumber,  and 
partly  because  it  is  less  expensive  to  run  business  in  the 
country  than  in  the  city.  Large  concerns,  therefore, 
engaged  in  the  making  of  boxes,  tubs,  piano  backs, 
piano  sounding-boards,  etc.,  have  located  in  country 
towns  as  near  as  possible  to  their  source  of  supply, 
either  local  or  Canadian  or  both.  Bobbin  factories  in 
many  places  have  arisen  to  make  use  of  the  hard  wood 
which  in  earlier  days  of  lumbering  was  often  left  uncut 
in  the  forest  on  account  of  the  greater  expense  of  manu- 
facturing and  marketing  it. 

If  you  will  look  again  at  the  list  of  leading  industries, 
you  will  see  that  a  series  of  them  starts  with  the  work 
which  men  have  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  women.  We 
are  apt  to  think  that  woman  is  getting  very  modern  and 
mannish  in  occupation,  but  is  it  not  true  that  man  has 
entered  her  field  and  left  her  much  less  of  the  old  kind 
of  work  to  do  ?  He  invaded  the  kitchen  and  took  the 
spinning  wheel,  the  loom,  and  the  dye  pot.  Presently 
he  could  be  seen  building  a  factory,  and  when  it  was 
done  hosiery  was  made  there  by  machinery.  Then 
another  factory  went  up,  and  there  shirts,  underclothes, 
and  women's  garments  were  triumphantly  evolved.  But 
the  man  had  not  finished  :  not  only  would  he  make  his 
own  shirts,  but  he  would  wash  them  also.  So  the 
modern  steam  laundry  was  installed,  and  presently  the 
woman  found  her  own  dry  goods  going  the  way  of 
the  man's.     The  domestic  laundry  was  invaded. 

But  employment  for  women  did  not  cease,  for,  although 
they  may  no  longer  do  work  in  the  old-fashioned  way, 
they   may   do   it   with    the   most   improved    machinery. 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR     26 1 

You  will  find  establishments  for  making  hosiery,  knit 
goods,  and  women's  apparel  in  the  state  for  much  the 
same  reason  that  mills  were  located  in  the  country ; 
girls  can  be  hired  for  lower  wages  because  they  can 
live  more  cheaply,  and  in  the  country  their  work  can  be 
done  under  cleaner  and  more  wholesome  conditions  than 
in  the  crowded  shops  of  the  city.  Some  of  these  shops 
are  models  of  their  kind. 

Turning  once  more  to  our  list  of  industries,  we  find 
that  the  most  important  ones  which  remain  for  analysis 
rest  upon  the  geological  wealth  of  the  state.  Little  iron 
is  now  locally  produced.  The  three  great  geological 
industries  are  connected  with  the  production  of  slate, 
marble,  and  granite.  The  slate  industry,  which  has 
apparently  changed  but  little  in  recent  years,  really  illus- 
trates the  development  of  modern  conditions  as  well  as 
the  other  two ;  for  this  is  true,  that  although  the  slate 
business  is  not  on  the  increase,  its  present  status  depends 
as  much  on  the  foreign  demand  and  market  as  upon 
home  consumption,  —  a  condition  which  could  not  have 
prevailed  so  very  many  years  ago.  Now  exports  of 
slate  are  made  to  South  Africa,  London,  Bristol,  and 
Newcastle. 

The  marble  business  has  grown  for  over  a  century, 
until  Vermont  has  become  the  marble  center  of  the 
world  ;  for  not  only  does  she  produce  the  larger  part  of 
all  that  is  produced  in  the  United  States,  but  she  exports 
to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  —  to  India,  China, 
Japan,  and  Australia.  In  1898  Georgia  and  Tennessee 
produced  more  marble  sold  in  the  rough  than  Vermont 
did  ;  but  this  state  furnished  more  art  stone,  nearly  ten 


262  HISTORY   OF   VERMONT 

times  as  much  monumental  stone,  and  more  than  six 
times  as  much  of  both  as  all  other  states  put  together. 
Vermont,  in  fact,  has  supplied  the  need  of  the  country 
for  ornamental  and  building  marble  more  largely  than 
all  other  states  combined.  In  recent  years  the  sales 
of  Vermont  marble  for  building  purposes  have  shown  a 
notable  increase.  It  is  important  that  the  coarser  grades 
of  stone  can  be  thus  used,  since  much  of  the  product 
of  a  quarry  would  be  wasted  if  only  the  monumental 
grades  could  be  utilized,  and  some  quarries  could  not  be 
profitably  worked  at  all  on  that  basis. 

The  expense  of  opening  and  working  a  marble  quarry 
is  so  large  that  only  a  firm  with  a  large  capital  can 
undertake  it.  Most  of  the  marble  used  in  the  country 
is  produced  by  a  few  great  concerns.  This  might  well 
be  remembered  by  those  who  decry  the  concentration  of 
capital,  for  one  of  the  greatest  industries  of  our  state 
is  made  possible  only  by  such  concentration.  The  Ver- 
mont Marble  Company,  which  was  built  up  by  Redfield 
Proctor,  is  the  largest  marble-producing  company  in  the 
world. 

The  increase  in  this  business,  therefore,  is  an  increase 
not  in  the  number  of  separate  establishments  but  in 
their  output,  an  increase  amounting  in  the  last  decade 
to  nearly  fifty  per  cent. 

When  we  turn  to  the  granite  business  we  notice  quite 
a  different  set  of  conditions.  This  business  has  had  an 
even  more  rapid  growth  since  the  Civil  War  than  the 
marble  business ;  but  while  the  marble  industry  is  con- 
fined to  a  limited  area,  the  granite  industry  is  distributed 
throughout  the  state.    There  are  quarries  at  East  Dorset, 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH   WAR     263 

South  Dorset,  Rutland,  Proctor,  West  Rutland,  Bristol, 
Burlington,  Pittsford,  Brandon,  Middlebury,  Williams- 
town,  Woodbury,  Dummerston,  Kirby,  South  Calais, 
Ricker's  Mills,  Beebe  Plain,  Groton,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  large  beds  practically  untouched  which  will  furnish 
an  unlimited  supply  for  years  to  come.  Vermont  has 
enough  available  granite  to  supply  the  world. 

This  granite  is  of  the  best  quality,  fine  grained, 
compact,  strong,  of  very  even  texture  and  color,  and  is 
found  in  all  shades  of  gray.  No  red  granite  is  produced. 
Great  wealth  has  come  into  the  state  from  these  hitherto 
barren  ledges.  The  capital  invested  in  conducting  the 
business  is  widely  distributed,  and  there  are  many  com- 
panies engaged.  Within  comparatively  few  years  Barre 
has  grown  from  a  little  village  into  a  granite  city.  The 
state  is  rapidly  becoming  the  granite  center  of  the  world. 
In  the  production  of  finer  kinds  of  monumental  work 
Vermont  already  leads,  producing  more  than  twice  the 
quantity  yielded  by  any  other  state.  Sales  of  cut  gran- 
ite for  building  purposes  are  larger  in  some  other  states, 
although  of  this  kind  of  stone  Vermont  sells  more  in  the 
rough.  Very  little  of  her  granite  is  used  as  paving 
stones.  There  are  many  surface  quarries,  and  since  the 
stone  can  be  used  from  the  start  in  the  ledges,  a  small 
amount  of  capital  is  often  sufficient  to  start  a  quarry. 

Education 

The  educational  work  of  the  state  has  progressed,  not 
with  unbroken  uniformity,  but  with  commendable  spirit 
and  in  the  main  with  practical  wisdom  ;  for  Vermont  has 


-M,4 


HISTORY    OF   VKKMONT 


arrived  at  the  underlying  principle  of  an  efficient  public- 
school  system, — state  control.  The  cardinal  points  of 
the  system  are  revealed  in  state  requirements  put  upon 
the  schools,  in  state  aid  furnished  to  the  schools,  and 
in  the  centralization  of  administrative  machinery  in  the 
State  Department  of  Education. 

These  three  features  reach  all   the  parties  primarily 


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II. 

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The  Kellogg-Hubbard  Library,  Montpeliek 


connected  with  the  schools  ;  that  is,  the  towns  which 
maintain  the  schools,  the  pupils  who  attend  the  schools, 
and  the  teachers  who  teach  the  schools.  For  example, 
in  the  matter  of  requirements  :  towns  must  maintain  a 
school  year  of  certain  length  in  order  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  legal  schools  ;  compulsory  attendance  is  re- 
quired of  the  pupils  ;  and  examination  and  certification 
is  required  of  teachers. 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR    265 

In  the  same  way  the  state  aims  to  aid  all  connected 
with  the  public-school  system.  State  funds  are  appor- 
tioned among  the  towns;  it  is  directed  that  free  text- 
books be  supplied  by  the  towns  to  the  pupils ;  and 
normal  schools  are  maintained  for  the  better  training 
of  teachers. 

The  centralization  of  the  system  is  illustrated  by  the 


The  Norman  Williams  Library,  Woodstock 


requirement  that  reports  of  all  schools  be  returned  to 
the  Department  of  Education  ;  by  the  system  of  examina- 
tion and  certification  of  teachers  ;  by  the  maintenance  of 
the'normal  schools  at  Johnson,  Castleton,  and  Randolph  ; 
by  the  teachers'  institutes  and  summer  schools  ;  by 
circulars  of  information  issued  by  the  Department  of 
Education  ;  and  by  the  general  supervision  exercised 
by  the  State  Superintendent  of  Education.     The  county 


266 


HISTORY    OF  VERMONT 


examinations  form  a  sort  of   bridge   between   the  local 
and  central  systems. 

These  features  of  our  educational  system  have  not  all 
come  at  once.  They  are  the  result  of  an  evolution. 
The  normal  schools  began  their  work  in  1866.  The 
office    of    state    superintendent    was    revived    in    1874. 


Museum  of  Natural  History,  St.  Johnsbury 


County  examiners  were  provided  for  in  1 890.  The  town 
system  was  established  in  1892.  So  little  by  little  the 
advance  has  been  made.  The  result  is  that  to-day  hardly 
a  state  in  the  Union  can  show  a  more  generous  support 
of  its  schools  than  this  state,  in  proportion  to  wealth 
or  population  ;  that  no  state  can  show  better  schools  or 
school    buildings  or   appliances   than   can    be  shown  in 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR    267 

places   of    corresponding    size   in   this   state ;   and   that 
Vermont  teachers  are  in  demand  in  other  states. 

The  town  system  has  done  more  to  secure  equaliza- 
tion of  school  privileges  than  any  other  one  measure. 
The  normal  schools  are  doing  progressive  work.  The 
spirit  and  zeal  of  the  teachers  of  the  state  are  shown 
by  the  support  they  give  to  institutes  and  educational 


The  Mark  Skinner  Library,  Manchester 


meetings.  Popular  feeling  is  indicated  by  the  erection 
of  better  school  buildings  and  the  beautifying  of  school 
grounds.  A  few  public  kindergartens  have  been  estab- 
lished and  have  met  with  favor. 

The  high  schools  are  a  feature  in  the  school  develop- 
ment of  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  The  position  they 
hold  was  formerly  held  by  a  smaller  number  of  institu- 
tions of  academic  or  grammar  grade,  dependent  partly 


268 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


on  endowment  but  mostly  on  tuition, —  such  institutions, 
for  example,  as  Burr  and  Burton  Seminary,  Vermont 
Academy  at  Saxtons  River,  Brattleboro  Academy,  St. 
Johnsbury  Academy,  Lyndon  Institute,  Brigham  Acad- 
emy at  Bakersfield,  Montpelier  Seminary,  Newbury 
Seminary,  and  the  academies  at  Derby,  Craftsbury, 
Brownington,  Thetford,  Barre,  Peacham,  and  elsewhere. 


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The  Billings  Library,  Burlington 

They  did  good  work  and  some  of  them  are  yet  strong 
institutions  which  fit  well  into  the  public-school  system 
in  their  respective  towns  by  filling  the  function  of  the 
high  school  which  would  otherwise  be  necessary.  The 
schools  at  Castleton,  Randolph,  and  Johnson  became 
state  normal  schools  in  1867.  But  the  new  institutions 
are  high  schools,  not  academies.  High-school  attendance 
has  doubled  in  twenty  years  ;  and  recent  legislation  has 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR    269 


placed   free   secondary   education   within   reach    of    the 
aspiring  youth  of  the  state. 

The  growth  of  libraries  and  library  facilities  through- 
out the  state  is  a  most  encouraging  sign  of  the  times. 
Many  of  the  high  schools  have  libraries,  some  possess- 
ing as  many  as  four  thousand  volumes.     The  same  is 


The  Athen^um,  St.  Johnsbury 

true  of  the  normal  schools.  Other  libraries  have  been 
established  by  bequests  of  individuals,  and  have  perma- 
nent endowments  and  artistic  buildings. 

Of  the  colleges  little  need  be  said  save  that  they  have 
grown  in  their  work,  proving  their  worth,  and  that  they 
have  added  to  their  buildings,  equipment,  courses  of 
study,  teaching  staff,   and  number  of  students. 


270 


HISTORY   OF    VERMONT 


The  Spanish  War 


sr&*\ 


National  politics  once 
more  involved  us  in  war ; 
but  this  time  it  was  waged 
on  foreign  shores,  not  on 
our  own,  and  was  not  so 
great  a  contest  as  to  affect 
business  and  social  condi- 
tions seriously.  It  would 
be  a  hazardous  matter  to 
pass  judgment  here  on  the 
merits  of  this  war.  It  will 
be  sufficient  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  in  the 
war  two  of  Vermont's  sons  brought  added  distinction  to 
themselves  and  to  their  state.  To  Commodore  Dewey 
was   due  the  credit  of  the  victory  of  Manila  Bay ;  to 


Admiral  George  Dewey 


Birthplace  of  Admiral  Dewey  at  Montpelier 


FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR  TO  THE  SPANISH  WAR    27  I 


Rear  Admiral  C.  E.  Clark's  Birthplace, 
Bradford 


Captain  Clark  of 
the  Oregon  was  due 
the  credit  of  taking 
that  wonderful 
mechanism,  a  mod- 
ern war-ship,  on  a 
voyage  of  more 
than  half  the  cir- 
cumference of  the 
globe,  from  the 
coast  of  California 

around  Cape  Horn,  to  join  the  Atlantic  squadron,  a  feat 
which  was  accomplished  in  a  little  more  than  two  months, 

without  a  rivet  or  a  bolt 
or  a  gearing  broken  or 
out  of  place. 

Vermont  statesmen 
have  taken  a  leading  and 
intelligent  interest  in  try- 
ing to  arrive  at  a  broad 
and  liberal  solution  of 
the  vexed  problems  of 
administering  our  new 
possessions,  and  not  a 
few  of  her  sons  have 
been  called  to  take  up 
active  duty  in  the  field 
of  civil  and  educational 
service  in  the  Philip- 
pines in  as  truly  a  missionary  enterprise  as  any  that 
exists  to-dav. 


Rear  Admiral  C.  E.  Clark 


27  2 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


So  here  we  leave  the  story  of  our  state.  More  has 
been  left  unsaid  than  has  been  told  ;  but  we  have  gained 
great  glimpses  here  and  there  of  audacious  courage, 
sublime  faith,  magnificent  statesmanship,  true  patriotism, 

and  loyal  devotion  to  duty. 
In  the  comparatively  brief 
period  of  our  state's  history 
we  have  seen  reflected  the 
wide  range  of  human  life  and 
development  from  an  exist- 
ence the  most  simple  and 
primitive  to  the  civilization  of 
the  twentieth  century.  The 
best  story  and  the  greatest 
inspiration  are  the  lives  of 
the  men  and  women  them- 
selves,—  the  plain,  simple 
people  of  the  hills,  whose  characters  stand  out  like 
great  elemental  forces  as  they  moved  through  life,  ever 
ready  to  take  their  chances  with  the  hard  things,  ever 
responsive  to  the  call  of  duty,  strong,  true,  ardent,  just, 
versatile,  and  independent. 


Rowland  E.  Robinson 

Vermont's  Blind  Author 


Geographical  Map  of  Vermont 


APPENDIX 
Part  I 

GEOGRAPHICAL    AND    GEOLOGICAL    NOTES 

GEOGRAPHICAL    NOTES 

VERMONT 

Latitude,  north,  420  44'  to  450. 

Longitude,  east  from  Washington,  30  35"  to  50  20/. 

Length,  157^  miles. 

Width  at  northern  border,  90  miles. 

Width  at  southern  border,  41  miles. 

Average  width,  57^  miles. 

Total  area,  9565  square  miles.1 

Water  surface,  430  square  miles. 

Land  area,  9135  square  miles,  or  5,846,400  acres. 

Mountains 

The  surface  of  the  state  is  thoroughly  broken  by  hills,  individual 
mountains,  and  mountain  ranges.  The  configuration  thus  formed 
gives  the  state  a  diversified  and  picturesque  scenery,  which  is 
enhanced  by  the  beauty  of  the  valleys  and  the  numerous  little 
streams,  lakes,  and  ponds.  The  mountains  of  the  state  form 
four  main  divisions,  which  are  known  as  the  Green  Mountains, 
the  Taconic  Mountains,  the  Granitic  Mountains,  and  the  Red 
Sandrock  Mountains. 

1  Census  1900.  The  area  of  the  state  has  been  variously  given  by  different 
authorities. 

273 


74 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


The  Green  Mountains  form  the  principal  mountain  chain,  and 
consist  of  a  range  which  takes  a  northerly  direction  through  the 
state  for  its  entire  length,  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  center.  The 
highest  peaks  in  the  state  belong  to  this  range.  Beginning  at 
the  north,  the  principal  summits  are  as  follows  : 


lay  Peak,  4018  feet. 
Lowell  Mountain. 
Sterling  Peak,  3700  feet. 
Mt.  Mansfield,  4364  feet. 
Bone  Mountain. 
Camel's  Hump,  4088  feet. 
Potato   Hill,  or  Lincoln  Moun- 
tain, 407S  feet. 
Bread  Loaf. 
Moosalamoo. 
Hogback,  2347  feet.1 


Pico  Peak,  3967  feet.1 
Killington  Peak,  4241  feet.1 
Shrewsbury  Peak,  3737  feet.1 
Saltash  Mountain,  3278  feet.1 
White's  Hill,  2922  feet.1 
Mt.  Tabor,  3584  feet.1 
Stratton  Mountain. 
Somerset  Mountain,  3605  feet.1 
Haystack  (Searsburg),  3462  feet.1 
Bald  Mountain  (Woodford). 
Prospect  Mountain. 


The  Taconic  Mountains  are  independent  of  the  Green  Mountain 
range  and  nearly  parallel,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state, 
extending  from  the  Massachusetts  line  as  far  north  as  Brandon. 
The  principal  summits  are  as  follows  : 


Bird  Mountain. 

Herrick  Mountain,  2692  feet. 

Moose  Horn  Mountain. 

Danby  Mountain. 

Eolus. 

Master's  Mountain. 

Haystack  (Pawlet). 

Bear  Mountain. 

Seymour  Peak. 


Equinox,  3S72  feet. 

Minister's  Hill. 

Red  Mountain. 

West  Mountain. 

Bald  Mountain  (Arlington). 

Spruce  Peak. 

Mt.  Anthony,  2505  feet. 

Petersburg  Mountain. 


The  Granitic  Mountains  lie  in  eastern  Vermont.  They  do 
not  form  a  range,  although  they  extend  for  nearly  the  length  of 
the  state,  but  are  disconnected,  separate  uplifts.     The  ascent  to  the 


1  United  States  Geological  Survey.  This  survey  has  not  been  completed  for 
the  entire  state.  Heights  of  mountains  not  thus  marked  may  be  taken  to  be  only 
approximately  correct. 


APPENDIX 


275 


summit  is  not  infrequently  steeper  on  the  southern  than  on  the 
northern  side.     The  most  important  elevations  are  the  following  : 


Granite  Hill. 
Mt.  John. 
Bear  Hill. 
Bluff  Mountain. 
Mt.  Pisgah. 
Mt.  Hor. 


Mt.  Seneca. 
Joe's  Hill. 
Mack's  Mountain. 
Pidgeon  Hill. 
Pine  Mountain. 
Knox  Mountain. 


Cobble  Hill. 
Millstone  Hill. 
Ascutney,  3320  feet. 
Black  Mountain. 


The  Red  Sandrock  group  is  a  series  of  uplifts  in  northwestern 
Vermont,  lying  in  Addison,  Chittenden,  and  Franklin  counties. 
They  are  characterized  by  a  gradual  slope  on  the  eastern  side, 
and  a  more  rugged  and  bold  escarpment  on  the  western.  The 
formation  is  usually  limestone  or  calcareous  slate,  capped  with 
siliceous  rock,  "  red  sand  rock,"  from  which  the  mountains  take 
their  name.     These  elevations  are  : 


Snake  Mountain. 
Buck  Mountain. 
Bridgeman's  Hill. 
Rice  Hill,  2947  feet.1 
Prospect  Hill.  - 
Snake  Hill. 
Cobble  Hill  (Milton). 


Mutton  Hill. 

Pease  Hill. 

Sugar  Loaf,  or  Mt.  Philo. 

Florona,  1035  feet. 

Shell  House  Mountain. 

Mars  Hill. 


Rivers 


The  situation  of  the  mountains  determines,  of  course,  the  water- 
sheds and  the  course  of  the  streams.  Since  the  principal  watershed 
coincides  with  the  range  of  the  Green  Mountains,  the  rivers  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  state  empty  into  the  Connecticut  River,  after 
taking  for  the  most  part  an  easterly  or  southeasterly  course  from 
their  sources  among  the  hills.  The  Passumpsic  and  the  Deerfield 
flow  south.     These  rivers  are,  beginning  at  the  north  : 

Nulhegan.  Ompompanoosuc.  Williams. 

Passumpsic.  White.  West. 

Waits.  Quechee.  Deerfield. 

Wells.  Black. 

1  United  States  Geological  Survey.  This  survey  has  not  been  completed  for 
the  entire  state.  Heights  of  mountains  not  thus  marked  may  be  taken  to  be  only 
approximately  correct. 


276 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


~In  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  in  what  is  often  known  as 
"  the  Y  of  the  Green  Mountains,"  but  really  in  the  basin  between 
the  Granitic  and  the  Green  mountains,  a  smaller  group  of  rivers 
rises  and  flows  northward  into  Lake  Memphremagog.  These  are 
the  Clyde,  the  Barton,  and  the  Black. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  state,  tributary  to  Lake  Champlain, 
there  is  a  smaller  number  of  rivers  larger  than  those  on  the  east- 
ern side,  these  being  the  Missisquoi,  the  Lamoille,  the  Winooski, 
the  Otter  Creek,  the  Poultney,  and  the  Pawlet.  The  Battenkill 
and  the  Hoosac  empty  into  the  Hudson. 


Lakes  and  Ponds 

Although  the  Fish  Commissioners'  reports  contain  a  list  of  the 
many  lakes  and  ponds  in  the  state,  and  the  kinds  of  fish  which 
they  contain,  there  are  no  accurate  data  on  the  acreage  of  these 
waters.  The  following  figures  are  approximately  correct  for  the 
most  important  bodies  : 


Acres 
Berlin  Pond,  Berlin,  650 

Big  Leach,  or  Wallace  Pond, 

Canaan,  1 200 

Caspian  Lake,  Greensboro,  1 200 
Colchester  Pond,  Colchester,  Soo 
Crystal  Lake,  Barton,  1400 

Echo  Pond,  Charleston,  800 

Fairfield  Pond,  Fairfield,  1500 

Fairlee    Lake,    Fairlee    and 

Thetford,  1500 

Franklin  Pond,  Franklin,  1S00 
Great  Averill  Pond,  Averill,  1200 
Great  HosmerPond,  Albany,  1000 
Groton  Pond,  Groton,  1800 

Ilosmer  Pond,  Craftsbury,  650 
Island  Pond,  Brighton,  1500 


Acres 
Joe's  Pond,  Cabot  and  Dan- 
ville, 1000 
Lake  Bomoseen,  Castleton,  15000 
Lake    Dunmore,    Salisbury 

and  Leicester,  3000 

Lake  St.  Catherine,  Wells 

and  Poultney,  2000 

Little  Averill  Pond,  Averill,  800 
Maidstone  Lake,  Maidstone,  1000 
May  Pond,  Barton,  1000 

Memphremagog,  Derby  and 

Newport,        (in  Vermont)  8000 
Morey  Lake,  Fairlee,  1300 

Salem  Pond,  Derby,  1000 

Seymour  Lake,  Morgan,  5000 

Shelburne  Pond,  Shelburne,  700 
Willoughby  Lake, Westmore,  5500 


APPENDIX  277 


Counties 

Previous  to  the  declaration  of  independence  by  the  state  in  1777, 
the  territory  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  lay  within  the  limits 
of  four  counties :  Cumberland,  Gloucester,  Charlotte,  and  Albany. 
The  boundaries  of  these  counties  are  shown  on  page  74. 

Cumberland  County  lay  east  of  the  Green  Mountains  and 
extended  from  the  southern  boundary  of  the  state  as  far  north  as 
the  southern  part  of  the  present  county  of  Orange.  This  county 
was  established  by  the  Colonial  Legislature  of  New  York  in  1766. 
The  act  was  annulled  by  royal  decree  in  1767,  but  was  renewed 
in  the  following  year,  and  the  county  was  incorporated  in  March, 
1768.  The  first  shire  town  was  Chester,  but  the  county  seat  was 
removed  to  Westminster  in  1772. 

Gloucester  County,  which  was  formed  in  1770,  with  Newbury 
as  shire  town,  comprised  all  of  the  grants  north  of  Cumberland 
County  and  east  of  the  mountains. 

Charlotte  County  included  a  portion  of  New  York  and  the  part 
of  the  grants  which  lay  west  of  the  Green  Mountains  and  north  of 
the  towns  of  Arlington  and  Sunderland.  The  county  was  formed 
in  1772,  with  its  shire  at  Skenesboro,  now  Whitehall. 

Albany  County  comprised  the  remainder  of  the  state  west  of 
the  Green  Mountains  and  south  of  Charlotte  County,  as  well  as 
part  of  New  York. 

The  present  counties  of  the  state  were  organized  as  follows  : 

Bennington,   1779  Chittenden,  1782  Orleans,  1792 

Windham,      1779  Addison,  1787  Grand  Isle,      1S02 

Rutland,  17S1  Franklin,  1792  Washington,   1810 

Windsor,        1781  Caledonia,  1792  Lamoille,  1835 

Orange,  1781  Essex,  1792 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


GEOLOGICAL   NOTES1 

Vermont  has,  in  proportion  to  her  population,  greater  wealth  in 
quarries  than  any  other  state.  As  a  mining  state,  however,  she 
never  has  been  important  and  never  can   be  :  for  although  she 

diversity  of  metals,  they  do  not  exist  under  such  con- 
ditions that  they  can  be  profitably  obtained  in  any  appreciable 
quantities.  For  instance,  gold  has  been  found  in  many  places  in 
state,  but  nowhere  in  paying  quantities.  It  occurs  in  both 
the  sands  of  streams  and  in  gold-bearing  rocks.  But  not  even- 
quartz  vein  is  gold  bearing,  and  if  gold-bearing  quartz  is  found  it 
still  remains  to  get  the  rock  out  of  the  ground  and  the  gold  out  of 
the  rock.  The  process  of  separating  gold  from  quartz  is  complex 
and  involves  the  use  of  expensive  machinery,  so  that  it  costs 
more  to  get  the  metal  than  it  is  worth. 

The  only  mining  which  has  been  extensively  carried  on  to  any 
profit  is  copper  mining.  In  a  few  localities  this  has  probably 
paid.  Copper  has  been  mined  to  some  extent  for  over  eighty 
years,  although  there  have  been  intervals  of  inactivity.  There  is 
no  native  copper  in  the  state,  that  is,  copper  in  a  pure  form,  such 
-:s  in  the  great  beds  of  the  Lake  Superior  copper  region  : 
but  it  occurs  as  chalcopyrite  or  copper  pyrites,  a  sulphide  of  cop- 
per, which  is  usually  largely  mixed  with  iron  sulphide.  Within 
the  last  few  years  there  has  been  an  increased  demand  for  copper 
owing  to  its  use  in  electrical  equipments :  and  owing  to  this 
and  a  corresponding  increase  in  price  some  renewed  interest  has 
been  shown  in  the  copper  mines  of  Vermont,  and  copper  is  again 
mined  at  the  old  Ely  mine  in  Vershire,  the  Elizabeth  mine  in 
South  Strafford,  the  Reynolds  mine  in  Strafford,  and  the  mine  of 
the  Vermont  and  Boston  Mining  Company  in  Berkshire. 

Lead  is  found  in  many  parts  of  the  state,  and  although  a  few 
attempts  have  been  made  to  work  lead  mines,  the  quantity  has 
been  insufficient  to  develop  them.  In  1880,  according  to  the 
Census  Report,  this  state  produced  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of 

1  Taken  from  the  Report  of  the  State  Geologist.  G.  H.  Perkins,  for  1900.  and 
from  the  Foot  -  .zultural  Report. 


APPENDIX  ; - 

metallic  iron.     Little  has  been  produced  since,  and  no  beds  are 
now  worked,  although  many  towns  pes--—  sits  of  iron  asso- 

ciated  with  ocher,  kaolin,    :  -       anganese  is   found 

here  and  there  over  the  state.      Soapstc:  tone,  asbestos, 

talc,  and  paint  have  been  found  in  sufficient  quantities  to  tempt 
experiments  at  working  them.      One  bed  of  kaoni  rked  at 

Monkton,  has  been  used  in  the  mar..:  . .:  nc   of  china  ware  and 
fire  clay.     The  Rutland  Fire  Clay  Company  digs  clay  I 
stove  linings.      The  principal    beds   of   ocher    are    at    Znr.ion, 
Shaftsbury,   and   Bennington.      There   are   quarries   of   quail 
which  have  been  worked  by  the  Pike   Ms  . 

of  Br  £l  -      \hcst 

The  first  quarries  to  be  opened  were  naturally  those  in  which 
building  material  was  sought.  But  the  construction  of  stone 
buildings  involves  the  use  of  mortar,  and  as  1     s  is  from 

si   nc    :  :  s  I    at  the  latter  must  have  early. 

lily  all  the  limestone  in  this  state  is  found  in  the  western  part, 
not  far  from  Lake  Champlain.  For  more  than  a  century  stone 
has  been  taken  out  at  the  southern  end  of  Isle  La  boost 

black  limestone  with   fc       fossus.      At   Gran      [sk 
have   been    worked,   mostly    for   railroad  construction. 
at  Highgate  and  Swanton  have  been  worked  since  I  part 

of  the  ni:.  -.       :  furnishing  the  stone  for  extern 

from  which  lime  is  made.       It 

-"       I  randon.  Lc  tester  Junction,  a  -  tsf  af  this 

narrow  strip  of    limestone  the  rocks  are  mo>:       sc     st     g 
trite,   and  other  metamorphic  rocks. 
The  especially  important  quarries 
and   gra     I        The  location      f  1  stories  is 

inter—:     g  situatoE  . 

,\nd  the  other  west  of  the  Taconic  range.      By  far  the  burger 
part    of    both    kinds   of    quarries    is    in    Rutland    County. 
Taconic  hills  are  a  complete  barr  - 

found  west   lit  :':.■.   hills,  no  s  si       The  marble 

farther  north  than  the  slate  belt,  but  :       -  rrn  limi:  is  a 

the  same.     The  marble  area  is  about  I  as  kmg  i  north  to 

south  as  the  slate  area,  and  is  s  ider  from       - 


2So  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

The  great  slate  belt  begins  on  the  north,  near  Glen  Lake  at 
West  Castleton,  and  extends  southward  on  each  side  of  Lake 
Bomoseen,  through  Scotch  Hill,  New  Haven,  Blissville,  Poultney, 
South  Poultney,  Wells,  Pawlet,  and  West  Pawlet,  south  of  which 
no  quarries  are  now  worked,  although  they  formerly  extended  as 
far  as  West  Rupert.  From  north  to  south  this  slate  region  is 
about  thirty  miles  in  length  ;  it  is  from  five  to  six  miles  wide  for 
the  most  part,  and  nowhere  more  than  eight  or  ten  miles  in  width. 
A  number  of  different  varieties  of  slate  are  produced,  —  unfading 
green,  sea  green,  purple,  variegated,  and  dark  gray.  There  have 
been  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  quarries  either  temporarily  or 
permanently  worked  in  this  area. 

Especial  mention  has  been  made  of  both  the  marble  and  the 
granite  industries  in  the  closing  chapter  of  the  history,  so  that 
little  further  need  be  said  here,  save  to  note  that  the  distribution 
of  the  granite  is  not  so  confined  as  that  of  the  slate  and  marble,  it 
occurring  widely  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Green  Mountains. 


Part  II 

FOR  REFERENCE  AND  FURTHER  STUDY 

MAP  EXERCISES 

Draw  an  outline  of  the  state.  Indicate  the  name  of  the  adja- 
cent territory.  Show  on  the  map  the  latitude  and  longitude  of 
Vermont.  State  in  miles  the  length  of  Vermont  and  the  approxi- 
mate width  at  the  northern  and  southern  boundaries.  Indicate 
the  area  in  square  miles  and  the  acreage,  both  land  and  water. 

On  an  outline  map  such  as  the  above  show  the  course  of  the 
Green  Mountain  range  and  the  situation  of  the  Taconic,  Granitic, 
and  Red  Sandrock  mountains.  Indicate  the  heights  of  the  prin- 
cipal peaks. 

On  an  outline  map  of  the  state  insert  the  courses  of  the  princi- 
pal water  ways  tributary  to  the  Connecticut  River,  the  Hudson 


APPENDIX  28l 

River,  Lake  Memphremagog,  and  Lake  Champlain.  In  drawing 
these  rivers  be  careful  to  locate  their  sources  properly,  to  show 
the  territory  which  they  drain,  and  their  exits  into  the  larger 
bodies  of  water.  Tell  where  these  larger  bodies  empty  into  the 
sea.     Draw  on  this  map  the  lakes  of  Vermont. 

Sketch  the  county  divisions  on  an  outline  map  of  the  state. 
Indicate  the  names  of  the  counties,  the  dates  of  organization, 
and  the  population.  Show  where  the  earliest  settlements  were 
made,  with  dates.  Locate  the  cities  and  large  towns.  Draw  the 
railroad  lines  which  lie  within  the  state. 

Compare  Vermont  with  the  other  New  England  states  in 
respect  to  size  and  population.  Compare  it  also  with  any  three 
of  the  Middle,  Southern,  and  Western  states.  Compare  it  with 
England,  France,  Switzerland,  Italy. 

Note.  —  These  are  foundation  exercises,  and,  if  necessary,  should  be  repeated 
until  good  work  can  be  shown.  The  maps  should  be  drawn  in  class,  from  mem- 
ory, should  be  carefully  scrutinized  by  the  teacher,  and  returned  with  whatever 
comment  or  criticism  is  needed.  Oral  questions  should  supplement  the  exercises. 
The  following  list  of  maps  will  be  found  useful  for  reference. 

List  of  Maps 

I.     Vermont  at  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars,1  facing  p.  40. 
II.     Early  Map  of  New  Hampshire,  soon  after  the  erection  of  Fort  Dum- 
mer,  p.  69. 

III.  The  First  Political  Division  of  Vermont,  p.  74. 

IV.  Vermont  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,2  facing  p.  122. 
V.     Railroad  Map  of  Vermont,  facing  p.  220. 

VI.     Geographical  Map  of  Vermont,  facing  p.  273. 
VII.     Township  Map  of  Vermont,  in  colors,  facing  p.  301. 

1  This  map  shows  French  occupancy  in  the  Champlain  Valley ;  two  of  the  old  Indian 
routes  ;  Governor  Wentworth's  early  grants  ;  the  beginning  of  English  settlement ;  the 
military  outposts  at  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  Fort  William  Henry,  Number  Four, 
Fort  Dummer,  and  Fort  Hoosac;  the  first  road  across  the  state;  and  the  extent  to 
which  the  wilderness  had  been  explored.  The  original  of  this  map  bears  no  date,  but 
internal  evidence  would  indicate  that  it  was  made  between  1759  and  1764. 

2  This  map  shows  the  extent  to  which  townships  had  been  granted  before  the  close 
of  the  Revolution.  A  comparison  with  map  I  will  indicate  the  very  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  state  following  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  The  town- 
ships marked  Y  were  granted  by  governors  of  New  York.  The  dotted  lines  indicate 
conflicting  grants. 


282  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


TOPICS1 

Chapter  I.  Did  Cartier  see  a  part  of  Vermont?  Distinguish 
between  the  possibility,  the  probability,  and  the  certainty  of  it. 
The  first  contact  of  Indians  and  white  men.  Champlain's  route 
to  the  lake.  Champlain's  impressions  of  the  country  :  what  would 
be  his  standard  of  comparison?  The  fauna  of  Vermont  in  1609. 
Could  the  Indians  be  depended  on  for  accurate  accounts  of  the 
country?  Modern  weapons  and  Indian  warfare.  What  reason 
is  there  to  think  that  Champlain  mistook  limestone  rocks  for  snow 
on  the  mountains?  Distinguish  what  we  positively  know  about 
the  aborigines  of  Vermont  from  what  we  can  reasonably  infer. 
Describe  the  old  burial  ground  at  Swanton,  and  give  the  evidence 
of  its  antiquity.  Indian  relics  and  their  uses.  Describe  Indian 
life  from  data  given  in  this  chapter. 

Chapter  II.  Compare  the  French  and  English  methods  of 
colonizing,  and  mention  some  of  the  results.  The  French  and 
Indian  wars  as  an  incident  of  colonial  policy.  Condition  of  our 
state  at  the  time  of  these  wars.  How  much  of  its  geography  was 
known?  Describe  the  red  men's  roads.  Illustrate  the  methods 
of  warfare  by  the  Deerfield  raid  and  Rogers's  exploit.  Describe 
the  building  of  Fort  Dummer  and  the  life  of  the  scouts.  How  the 
French  entered  the  Champlain  Valley.  When  did  it  become  evi- 
dent that  the  French  were  losing  ground  ?  Find  the  reason  for 
the  failure  of  the  French.     The  work  and  value  of  scouting  parties. 

Chapter  III.  Enumerate  the  indirect  or  secondary  results  of 
the  French  and  Indian  wars.  Give  the  history  of  the  old  Indian 
road.  The  Hazen  road.  Local  road  building.  Why  is  1760 
an  important  date  in  Vermont  history?  Bennington.  Illustrate 
the  choice  of  locations  for  settlement  and  how  the  first  settlers 
came  into  the  wilderness.  What  parts  of  the  state  were  settled 
first  and  why?  The  extent  of  settlement  at  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Colonial  society  in  its  social,  industrial,  and  intellectual 
aspects.     Domestic  economy.      Political  issues. 

1  The  topics  are  not  designed  to  supply  the  teachers  with  a  complete  list 
of  ready-made  questions,  but  to  indicate  the  lines  along  which  they  may  most 
profitably  direct  their  own  questions. 


APPENDIX  283 

Chapter  IV.  Why  were  the  early  townships  called  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants?  The  cause  of  the  dispute  between  New 
Hampshire  and  New  York.  To  whom  did  all  parties  turn  for 
appeal?  How  the  question  affected  the  settlers  of  this  state. 
How  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  passed  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
New  York.  What  change  of  jurisdiction  meant.  Why  the  Order 
in  Council  of  1 764  did  not  settle  the  trouble.  Trace  the  steps  in 
the  contest.  The  settlers'  methods  of  defense  :  their  first  appeal ; 
their  next  resort  ;  their  final  alternative.  Were  their  methods  of 
operation  legal?  Did  the  governors  of  New  York  act  legally? 
What  did  the  settlers'  methods  do  for  them  in  the  way  of  building 
up  a  government?  If  the  king  had  not  issued  the  first  Order  in 
Council  is  it  likely  that  Vermont  would  have  been  a  separate  state? 
Were  there  men  in  Vermont  who  had  settled  in  good  faith  under 
New  York  patents  ?  Could  this  dispute  have  been  settled  by 
compromise  ?  Describe  the  situation  leading  to  the  "  Westmin- 
ster Massacre."  Is  it  an  incident  of  the  Revolution  or  of  the 
grant  controversy,  or  both  ?  Was  it  really  a  massacre  ?  Were 
the  settlers  acting  legally  ? 

Chapter  V.  The  relation  of  the  grant  controversy  to  the 
Revolution.  The  strategic  importance  of  the  Champlain  Valley. 
How  the  British  came  to  be  in  possession  of  the  military  posts. 
Colonial  projects  for  securing  possession  of  the  Champlain  Valley. 
The  relation  of  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  to  the  Revolution. 
The  importance  of  the  event  as  a  military  operation.  The  Green 
Mountain  Boys  in  the  war.  Naval  operations  of  1776.  The 
British  plan  of  campaign  for  1777.  Events  leading  to  the  battle 
of  Bennington.  What  caused  Burgoyne's  defeat?  In  what  did 
the  value  of  John  Stark's  services  lie?  The  respects  in  which 
Bennington  was  an  important  battle.  In  what  ways  was  it  simi- 
lar to  the  engagements  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill  and  unlike 
the  others  of  the  Revolution  ?  The  general  effect  of  the  war  on 
frontier  settlements.  Illustrate.  What  should  make  the  British 
think  that  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  would  be  loyal  to  the 
crown  ? 

Chapter  VI.  What  did  the  Revolution  do  for  Vermont  ?  How 
did  it  create  an  opportunity  for  more  independent  action  than  the 


284  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 

state  could  otherwise  have  taken?  Why  did  Vermont  become  a 
state?  What  was  the  difference  between  Vermont  and  any  one 
of  the  thirteen  colonies?  How  did  the  conventions  described  in 
this  chapter  arise,  and  of  whom  were  they  composed?  In  what 
respects  did  the  second  differ  from  the  first,  the  third  from  the 
second,  and  so  on  ?  Why  were  the  conventions  held  at  different 
places?  Distinguish  the  different  kinds  of  questions  which  came 
before  the  conventions.  Name  some  of  the  burdens  which  Ver- 
mont assumed  on  becoming  a  state.  The  relation  between  the 
American  Declaration  of  Independence  and  Vermont's. 

Chapter  VII.  The  conditions  in  Vermont  compared  with  those 
in  other  states  during  the  Revolutionary  period  and  immediately 
following.  Name  the  ways  in  which  war  affects  the  finances 
and  industries  of  states.  Compare  Vermont's  participation  in  the 
Revolution  with  that  of  other  states.  What  made  her  continued 
growth  through  the  Revolutionary  period  possible  ?  Explain  the 
origin  of  "ministers'  lots,"  "school  lots,"  etc.  The  location,  the 
causes,  and  the  extent  of  popular  disturbances  after  the  war. 
Legislative  measures  to  relieve  poor  debtors.  Vermont's  case 
before  Congress.  History  of  the  East  and  West  unions.  The 
negotiations  with  the  British.  What  saved  Vermont  from  inva- 
sion ?  Cite  the  opinions  of  leading  men  showing  different  points 
of  view  of  the  Vermont  problem.  Explain  why  Vermont  was 
not  admitted  to  the  Union  for  fourteen  years.  Explain  why  she 
was  admitted  in  1791.  In  what  ways  can  you  indicate  Governor 
Chittenden's  skill  and  statesmanship  ? 

Chapter  VIII.  Transportation  as  a  factor  in  industrial  devel- 
opment. What  things  were  raised  on  the  farms  and  where  were 
they  marketed  ?  The  first  artisans  in  newly  settled  places.  What 
things  were  made  at  home  which  we  now  buy  ?  Give  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  occupation  and  life  of  the  people  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  beginning  of  quarrying,  the  lumber 
trade,  steam  navigation.  Educational  work  of  the  early  Ver- 
monters.  Banks,  paper  money,  and  coinage.  Lotteries  and  how 
they  were  used.  Differences  between  the  northern  and  southern 
parts  of  the  state.  The  claim  of  the  Caughnawaga  Indians  and 
how  it  was  disposed  of. 


APPENDIX  285 

Chapter  IX.  How  did  Vermont  happen  to  take  an  active 
interest  in  the  War  of  181 2  ?  The  effect  of  this  war  on  the  settle- 
ments. The  principal  naval  events  on  Lake  Champlain.  Describe 
the  war  policy  as  revealed  in  the  embargoes.  How  did  it  work? 
Arguments  for  and  against  such  a  policy.  Why  did  New  Eng- 
land not  sympathize  with  such  a  policy?  Trace  the  results  in 
the  general  respect  paid  to  law  and  in  the  course  of  trade.  Did 
Vermont  display  loyalty  to  the  government  and  good  citizenship 
among  her  people  ? 

Chapter  X.  What  were  the  differences  between  rural  life 
in  Vermont  half  a  century  ago  and  to-day?  The  neighborhood 
as  a  center  of  industry  and  social  life.  Discuss  the  application  of 
labor,  transportation,  and  markets  as  factors  of  change  in  the 
forms  of  industry.  The  growth  of  manufacturing  before  the  Civil 
War,  with  illustrations  of  important  developments.  The  work 
of  the  state  on  its  educational  system  before  the  Civil  War.  In 
what  respects  was  Vermont  a  pioneer  in  educational  progress? 
How  the  growth  of  negro  slavery  became  the  dominant  issue  in 
national  politics. 

Chapter  XI.  Vermont's  record  on  the  slavery  question.  The 
situation  of  the  North  on  the  verge  of  war.  The  apprehensions 
of  public  men  in  Vermont  on  the  impending  crisis.  The  outbreak 
of  the  war.  Activities  throughout  the  state.  Illustrate  the  pri- 
vate, public,  and  official  feeling  on  the  issue.  The  raising  of 
troops  in  the  state.  A  summary  of  the  services  of  Vermont. 
Some  of  the  important  campaigns  in  which  the  First  Vermont 
Brigade  served.  Opinions  of  officers  on  the  quality  of  our  sol- 
diers.    The  St.  Albans  Raid. 

Chapter  XII.  Trace  the  effects  of  war  on  industry  and  agri- 
cultural conditions  during  the  continuance  of  the  contest.  The 
reaction  after  the  war  was  over.  The  westward  movement  of 
population.  The  main  features  of  our  industrial  development 
since  the  Civil  War.  Illustrate  the  manner  in  which  new  indus- 
tries arise  and  diversify.  The  gains  made  in  our  educational 
system.  An  outline  of  the  present  system.  Vermont's  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Spanish  War  and  the  importance  of  the  part 
they  played. 


286  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    NOTE 

Bibliography  and  General  Works 

The  most  complete  bibliography  is  that  published  in  the  Argus 
and  Patriot^  by  M.  D.  Gilman,  and  later  in  one  volume  (Burling- 
ton, 1897).  The  most  detailed  and  valuable  histories  of  the  state 
were  published  comparatively  early.     Among  the  best  are  : 

Samuel  Williams.  Natural  and  Civil  History  of  Vermont.  Wal- 
pole,  N.H.,  1794.  2d  ed.,  enlarged  and  corrected.  Burlington,  Vt., 
1809.     2  vols. 

Zadock  Thompson.  History  of  Vermont,  Natural,  Civil,  and  Sta- 
tistical.    In  three  parts.     Burlington,  1848.     Contains  the  Gazetteer. 

Benjamin  Homer  Hall.  The  History  of  Eastern  Vermont  to  the 
Close  of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  New  York,  1858.  Albany,  1865. 
An  original  work,  involving  much  research  and  incorporating  new 
material.  Written  from  manuscripts  in  the  offices  of  the  secretaries 
of  state  of  Vermont,  New  York,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Connecticut.  Quite  full  on  the  history  of  the  controversy  over  the 
grants,  and  containing  much  detailed  local  history. 

Hiland  Hall.  History  of  Vermont  from  its  Discovery  to  its  Admis- 
sion into  the  Union  in  1791.  Albany,  1868.  Written  from  original 
documents  and  personal  investigation. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  are  a  few  works  which  deserve 
mention  for  special  reasons.     Such  are  : 

Ira  Allen.  Natural  and  Political  History  of  the  State  of  Vermont. 
London,  1798.  Reprinted  in  Vermont  Historical  Society  Collections, 
I,  Montpelier,  Vt.,  1870.  This  book  has  the  disadvantage  of  being 
written  by  a  partisan,  from  memory,  without  the  possibility  of  verifying 
any  doubtful  statements.  It  is,  therefore,  somewhat  prejudiced,  uncrit- 
ical, and  inaccurate.  But  it  has  the  advantage  of  being  the  only  account 
we  possess  of  the  Haldimand  negotiations  from  an  insider,  and  is  there- 
fore a  contribution  which  cannot  be  disregarded.  It  covers  the  period 
from  1764  to  1 79 1. 

A.  M.  Hkmkxwav  (editor).  The  Vermont  Historical  Gazetteer. 
Five   vols.     Burlington,    1 867-1 891.     This  is  sometimes  cited  as  the 


APPENDIX  287 

Vermont  Historical  Magazine.  It  is  made  up  of  the  contributions  of 
local  writers,  and  is  therefore  not  of  uniform  value.  It  contains  masses 
of  information  not  elsewhere  available,  and  tells  much  about  the  life  of 
the  people  as  well  as  of  the  separate  towns. 

Rowland  E.  Robinson.  Vermont.  Boston,  1892.  The  best  of  the 
more  recent  single-volume  histories  of  moderate  compass.  It  combines 
faithful  and  painstaking  effort  for  accuracy  with  good  literary  workman- 
ship.    A  good  book  for  the  general  reader  to  own. 

Records  of  the  Council  of  Safety  and  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil of  Vermont.  8  vols.  Montpelier,  1873-1880.  This  is  the  most 
important  series,  as  well  as  the  most  comprehensive,  on  the  history 
of  the  state.     Invaluable  for  any  original  study. 

William  Slade.  Vermont  State  Papers.  Middlebury,  1823.  A 
compilation  of  records  and  documents,  with  the  Journal  of  the  Council 
of  Safety,  the  first  constitution,  and  the  early  journals  of  the  General 
Assembly.     Very  valuable  for  reference. 

Vermont  Historical  Society.  Collections,  2  vols.,  1870,  1871. 
Proceedings,  1  vol.,  1898.  Separate  printed  reports  of  proceedings, 
papers  read,  etc.,  of  various  dates.  Chiefly  occupied  with  the  history 
of  the  state  during  the  Revolution  and  immediately  afterward,  and 
with  the  history  of  the  controversy  with  New  York. 

Archaeology 

George  H.  Perkins.  Some  Relics  of  the  Indians  of  Vermont 
(American  Naturalist,  March,  187 1).  On  Some  Fragments  of  Pottery 
from  Vermont  (Proceedings  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  August,  1876).  On  an  Ancient  Burial  Ground  in 
Swanton,  Vermont  (Proceedings  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  1873).  The  Calumet  in  the  Champlain 
Valley  (Popular  Science  Monthly,  Vol.  XLV,  1894).  The  Stone  Axe 
in  Vermont :  I,  Celts ;  II,  Notched  and  Grooved  Axes  (American 
Naturalist,  December,  1885;  June,  1886).  Archaeological  Researches 
in  the  Champlain  Valley  (Memoirs  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Anthropology).  Archaeology  of  Vermont  (American  Naturalist,  June, 
1881).  Archaeology  of  New  England  (Prehistoric  Implements,  Moore- 
head,  Section  IV,  1900). 

David  S.  Kellogg.  Early  Mention  of  Events  and  Places  in  the 
Valley  of  Lake  Champlain  (published  in  Vermont  Historical  Society 
Proceedings,   1902). 


288  HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Discoveries  and  Early  History 

Samuel  deChamplain.  Works.  Translated  in  Slafter's  Champlain. 
(Prince  Society  Publications.  Portions  are  translated  in  O'Callaghan, 
Documentary  History  of  New  York,  III.) 

PIERRE  E.  RADISSON.    Voyages.    (Prince  Society  Publications,  1885.) 

New  Hampshire  Historical  Society  Collections,  V,  207-211. 
Journal  of  Eleazer  Melvin  with  eighteen  men  under  his  command,  in 
the  wilderness  toward  Crown  Point,  1748. 

O'Callaghan.  Documentary  History  of  New  YTork,  IV,  257  ff. 
Journals  of  Sir  William  Johnson's  scouts  from  Lake  George  to  Crown 
Point,  Ticonderoga,  and  other  points,  in  1755  and  1756.  Also  Docu- 
ments relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
15  vols.     Albany,    1856- 1887. 

Robert  Rogers.  Journals  of  Major  Robert  Rogers.  London,  1 765. 
These  cover  his  scouting  in  the  Champlain  Valley  as  well  as  the  history 
of  his  famous  raid  against  the  St.  Francis  Indians. 

Major  General  John  Stark.  Memoir  and  Official  Correspondence. 
(Ed.  Caleb  Stark.)     Concord,  1S60. 

Francis  Parkman.  Champlain  and  His  Associates  (Pioneers  of 
France  in  the  New  World),  Chapters  I,  IX,  X.  A  Half-Century  of 
Conflict,  Chapters  I,  III,  V,  XI,  XVII,  XXIII,  XXIV.  Montcalm 
and  Wolfe,  Introduction  and  Chapters  I,  XX,  XXVI. 

E.  Hoyt.  Antiquarian  Researches :  Comprising  a  History  of  the 
Indian  Wars  in  the  Country  bordering  on  the  Connecticut  River,  to 
1760.     Greenfield,  Mass.,  1S24. 

J.  A.  Graham.     Descriptive  Sketch  of  Vermont.     London,  1797. 


Geology  and  Geography 

Albert  II agar.  Report  on  the  Economical  Geology,  Physical 
Geography,  and  Scenery  of  Vermont.      1861. 

George  H.  Perkins.  Report  of  the  State  Geologist  on  the  Mineral 
Resources    of     Vermont.        1899- 1900. 

In  addition  to  works  mentioned  above,  attention  is  called  to 
town  histories,  some  of  which,  like  Wells's  "  History  of  Newbury," 
have  brought  new  material  to  light ;  to  county  histories,  some  of 
which,  as  Smith  and  Rann's  "  History  of  Rutland  County,"  are 


APPENDIX  289 

excellent  and  contain  much  information  about  early  roads,  settle- 
ments, and  the  state  of  society  ;  to  pamphlets  published  by  various 
local  historical  societies  ;  to  the  Vermont  Agricultural  Reports, 
the  fourteenth  number  of  which  is  especially  interesting  ;  to  the 
Census  Reports  for  the  data  which  they  furnish  on  the  manu- 
factures and  industries  of  the  state  ;  to  biographical  sketches, 
especially  those  in  J.  G.  Ullery's  "Men  of  Vermont";  to  the 
many  articles  and  illustrations  bearing  on  the  history  of  the  state 
which  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  The  Vermonterj  to 
the  last  report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Education;  and  to  the 
literary  efforts  of  Vermont  writers,  —  notably  D.  P.  Thompson's 
"  The  Green  Mountain  Boys "  and  "  The  Rangers,1'  the  poems 
of  John  G.  Saxe  and  Julia  Dorr,  and  Rowland  E.  Robinson's 
"  A  Hero  of  Ticonderoga,"  "  A  Danvis  Pioneer,"  "  Uncle  Lisha's 
Shop,"  and  "  Sam  Lovell's  Camps." 

The  author  acknowledges  a  special  indebtedness  to  G.  G.  Bene- 
dict's "Vermont  in  the  Civil  War."  The  material  for  Chapter  XI 
was  taken  almost  exclusively  from  this  work. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE 

1607  The  English  land  at  Jamestown. 

1608  Samuel  de  Champlain  founds  the  city  of  Quebec. 

1609  On  July  4  Champlain  enters  the  lake  which  bears  his  name. 
Henry  Hudson  explores  the  Hudson  River. 

1613  The  Dutch  establish  a  trading  post  at  Manhattan. 

1 6 14  John  Smith  explores  the  New  England  coast. 

16 19  A  cargo  of  slaves  is  landed  in  Virginia. 

1620  The  Pilgrims  land  at  Plymouth. 

1623     New  Amsterdam  is  settled  by  the  Dutch. 
Albany  is  settled. 

1629  New  Hampshire  is  granted  to  Mason. 

1630  Boston  is  founded. 
1636     Springfield  is  settled. 

1639     First  printing  press  in  America  is  set  up  at  Cambridge. 
1650     New  York's  eastern  boundary  provisionally  settled. 


2(jo  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

1654      Northampton  settled. 
[664      The  English  conquer  New  Netherlands. 
[665      The  French  build  a  fort  on  Isle  La  Motte. 
1670     Deerfield  settled. 

1690     Settlement  in  Vermont. 

Raid  on  Schenectady. 

The  English  build  a  Fort  at  Chimney  Point. 

First  English  Expedition  through  Lake  Champlain. 
1702     Queen  Anne's  War  begins. 
1  704     The  Raid  on  Deerfield. 

1 714  Northfield  settled. 

1 71 5  The    "equivalent    lands"    granted    by    Massachusetts    to 

Connecticut. 
1 719     Weekly  newspapers  established  in  Boston  and  Philadelphia. 
1724     Fort  Dummer  is  built  in  Vermont  by  Massachusetts. 

1730  The  French  settle  at  Chimney  Point. 

1 73 1  Fort  Frederick  (Crown  Point)  built  by  the  French. 

1732  George  Washington  born. 

1736     Township  No.  1  (Westminster)  granted  by  Massachusetts. 

1739  Grant  of  Walloomsac. 

1740  Southern  boundary  of  New  Hampshire  fixed,  involving  that 

of  Vermont. 

1 74 1  Benning  Wentworth  appointed  governor  of  New  Hampshire. 

1 744  King  George's  War  with  France. 

Fort  Massachusetts  built  at  Williamstown. 

1745  French  and  Indian  raid  on  Saratoga. 

1 749  Bennington  granted  by  Governor  Wentworth. 

1750  Protest  of  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York. 
The  boundary  question  submitted  to  the  king. 

1753  Settlement  of  Bellows  Falls. 

1754  French  and  Indian  War  begun. 

1755  The   English   build    Fort   William    Henry   at  the   foot  of 

Lake  George. 

1758  The  English  try  to  drive  the  French  from  Lake  Champlain. 

1759  Tne  English  take  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
Wolfe  captures  the  city  of  Quebec. 

Rogers  destroys  the  Indian  village  of  St.  Francis. 


APPENDIX  291 

1760  Montreal  taken  by  the  English. 

1760-63     Governor  Wentworth  makes  many  grants. 

1 76 1  Bennington  settled.     Settlers  begin  to  come  in  rapidly. 

1 762  Newbury  settled. 

1763  Peace  between  England  and  France.     Southern  boundary 

of  Canada  fixed  at  45°  north  latitude. 

1 764  Order  in  Council  decides  the  Connecticut  River  to  be  the 

eastern  boundary  of  New  York. 
Windsor,  Manchester,  and  Guildhall  settled. 

1765  New  York  patents  begin  to  be  issued  for  Vermont  lands. 
The  Stamp  Act  goes  into  effect. 

Convention  of  settlers  west  of  the  mountains. 

1 766  Another  convention  west  of  the  mountains  ;  the  settlers  send 

Samuel  Robinson  to  England  as  agent. 
The  Stamp  Act  repealed. 
Middlebury  settled.     Vergennes  settled. 
Cumberland  County  formed. 

1767  Order  in  Council  forbids  New  York  authorities  to  make 

further  grants  of  disputed  lands. 
1  769     The  king's  order  not  observed. 

1770  Ejectment  suits  decided   at  Albany   against    the   settlers. 

Ethan  Allen  appears  for  the  defense. 
Rutland  settled. 
Gloucester  County  formed,  north  of  Cumberland. 

1 77 1  The  raid  on  Breakenridge's  farm. 
Organization  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

Rewards  offered  for  the  arrest  of  Ethan  Allen  and  other 
leaders. 

1772  Remember  Baker  captured  by  Justice  Munro,  but  rescued 

by  neighbors. 
Settlers  hold  five  meetings  of  "  Committees  of  Safety." 
Charlotte   County  formed,  lying  on    both    sides    of    Lake 

Champlain. 

1773  Burlington  settled. 

1774  Congress  of  delegates  at  Philadelphia. 
Committees  of  Safety  meet  in  March  and  April. 
St.  Albans  settled. 


292  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

1775  March  13.     The  Westminster  Massacre. 

April  11.     Committee  of  Safety  meets  at  Westminster. 

April  19.     Battle  of  Lexington. 

f  Capture  of  Ticonderoga. 
May  10.     4  „  r  .  ,  ^  te 

^  Continental  Congress  assembles. 

Committees  of  Safety  form  throughout  the  colonies. 
Green  Mountain  Boys  form  a  regiment. 
Invasion  of  Canada. 
Ethan  Allen  captured  and  sent  to  England. 

1 776  Retreat  from  Canada.     Carleton's  expedition  down  the  lake. 
June  21.     Convention  at  Westminster. 

July  4.     United  States  declare  their  independence. 
July  24.     Convention  at  Dorset. 
Sept.  25.     Convention  at  Dorset. 
Oct.  30.     Convention  at  Westminster. 

1777  Jan.  15.     Convention  at  Westminster.     Vermont  declares 

her  independence. 
June  4.     Convention  at  Windsor. 

July  2.     Convention  at  Windsor.     Constitution  adopted. 
July  7.     Battle  of  Hubbardton.     Burgoyne's  invasion. 
Aug.  16.     Battle  of  Bennington. 
Oct.  17.     Burgoyne  surrenders. 
Dec.  24.     Constitutional  Convention. 

1778  Vermonters  build  frontier  forts.     British  raid  the  farms  by 

the  lake. 
Thomas  Chittenden  elected  governor. 
Legislature  meets  at  Windsor. 
Tory  lands  confiscated. 

Union  of  western  New  Hampshire  towns  with  Vermont. 
First  newspaper  in  Vermont  published  at  Westminster. 

1779  Code  of  laws  adopted. 

New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  assert  claims  to  Ver- 
mont territory. 

Congress  appoints  a  committee  to  consider  the  boundary 
dispute. 

1780  Raid  of  British  and  Indians  on  Royalton. 
The  British  appear  again  on  the  lake. 


APPENDIX 


293 


r  78 1      East  and  West  unions  formed. 

Intrigue  with  the  British  (Haldimand  negotiations). 
British    letters    sent    to    Congress    by    Ethan    Allen    and 
Benjamin  Franklin. 
17S2     George    Washington    advises    Vermont    to    give    up    the 
annexed  towns. 
The  legislature  relinquishes  the  unions. 
"  Windham  County  Rebellion."     Offenders  banished. 

1 783  Peace  with  Great  Britain. 

1784  Vermont  ceases   to   press   her    suit  for   admission   to   the 

Union. 
State  Post  Office  established. 
Ludlow  settled. 

1785  State  coinage.     Mint  at  Rupert. 

1786  Revision  of  the  state  constitution.     Montpelier  settled. 
St.  Johnsbury  settled. 

1787  Constitutional  Convention  at  Philadelphia. 

1 788  Northern  states  want  Vermont  admitted  to  offset  Southern 

influence. 
Kentucky  applies  for  admission. 

1790  Agreement  ratified  between  Vermont  and  New  York. 
Vermont  appropriates  $30,000  to  pay  New  York's  claims. 

1 79 1  Vermont  becomes  a  state  of  the  Union,  March  4. 
1793     Newport  settled. 

1800  University  of  Vermont  opened. 
Middlebury  College  founded. 

1 80 1  Thomas  Jefferson,  President. 
1804     Jefferson  reelected. 

1806  State  banks  established  at  Woodstock  and  Middlebury. 

1807  State  prison  at  Windsor  authorized. 

1808  Montpelier  becomes  the  state  capital. 
Smuggling  on  Lake  Champlain  due  to  land  embargo. 
Steam  transportation  begun. 

Madison  elected  President. 

18 10  State  banks  fail. 

181 1  Private  banks  chartered. 

1812  Madison  reelected. 


294  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

i .Si  2      War  with  Great  Britain. 

The  state  levies  a  war  tax. 
1813     Federalist  party  elects  Martin  Chittenden  as  governor. 

Naval  operations  on  Lake  Champlain. 
1S14     Sept.  11.     Battles  at  Plattsburg  and  Plattsburg  Bay. 
181  5     Peace  declared. 

1 81 6  The  "  cold  season."     Monroe  elected  President. 

181 7  President  Monroe  visits  Vermont. 
1820     Monroe  reelected. 

1822     Lake  Champlain  Canal  opened. 

State  Medical  School  founded. 
1825     Lafayette  visits  Vermont  and  lays  the  corner  stone  of  the 
new  university  building  at  Burlington. 

Erie  Canal  opened. 

Board  of  Canal  Commissioners  appointed  for  Vermont. 

1827  General  school  act  passed. 

1828  William  Lloyd  Garrison  comes  to  Bennington. 
New  tariff  stimulates  wool  growing. 

1830     First  railroad  opened  in  America. 

Anti-Masonic  agitation  in  Vermont  becomes  political. 

1833  United  States  deposits  withdrawn  from  branch   bank  at 

Burlington,  causing  distress. 
Temperance  movement  results  in  incipient  legislation. 

1834  Slavery  question  prominent. 

1837     Great  panic.     Specie  payments  suspended.     Wheat  crop 

fails. 
1839     Legislative    protests    against    slavery   in    the    District    of 

Columbia. 
1841-42     Cold  winter  and  terrible  epidemic. 
1843     Appropriations  made  for  agricultural  societies. 

Warrants  for  apprehending  fugitive  slaves  forbidden  to  be 

issued. 
1846-47      Mexican  War. 

1847  Burlington  Savings  Bank  chartered.     Railroads  begin  to 

operate. 

1848  More  protests  against  slavery. 
1849-51      Extension  of  railroads. 


APPENDIX  295 

1852     Prohibitory  law  passed. 

1858       Vermont    passes    an    emancipation    proclamation.       All 

negroes  free  when  on  Vermont  soil. 
i860     Lincoln  elected  President.     Secession  of  Southern  states. 

1 86 1  April  2.     Sumter  fired  on. 

April  15.     Governor  Fairbanks's  call  for  troops. 
April  19.     First  Vermont  regiment  formed. 
Special  session  of  the  legislature. 

1862  New  regiments  formed.     Vermont  troops  distinguish  them- 

selves at  Lee's  Mill  and  Savage's  Station. 

1863  Vermont  troops   render  distinguished  service  at  Marye's 

Heights  and  Gettysburg. 

1864  Vermont  troops  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsyl- 

vania,  and  the  Shenandoah  campaign.     St.  Albans  Raid, 
Oct.  19. 

1865  Vermont  troops  lead  the  charge  at  Petersburg  and  carry 

the  flag  into  Richmond.     End  of  the  war.     Assassina- 
tion of  Lincoln,  April  14. 
1 867     Morrill  tariff  encourages  wool  growing  and  other  Vermont 
industries. 

1869  Council  of  Censors  proposes  constitutional  amendments. 

1870  Constitutional  Convention.     Council  of  Censors  abolished. 
Legislative  sessions  made  biennial.     Biennial  state  elections. 

1 873-74     Financial  stringency. 

1877     Great  centennial  anniversary  celebration  at  Bennington. 
1880     Senator    Edmunds    nominated    for    President.       Garfield 
elected. 

1885  Edward  J.  Phelps  appointed  minister  to  Great  Britain. 

1886  State  Library  completed. 

1888  State  Farm  purchased  for  agricultural  experiments. 

1889  Redfield  Proctor  appointed  Secretary  of  War. 

1893     Henry  C.  Ide  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Samoa  by  Eng- 
land, Germany,  and  the  United  States. 
1898     May  1.     Dewey's  victory  at  Manila. 

1902  High-license  campaign.     President   Roosevelt  visits  Ver- 

mont. 

1903  Local-option  law  takes  effect. 


29O  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 

Part    III 

STATISTICAL   TABLES 

Table  A 

New  York  Land  Grants  made  in  Vermont, 
with  the  Fees 


Acres 

Fees 

('.rants  made  by  Lieut.  Gov.  Colden, 

1765, 

36,000 

$1,125.00 

it                  M            .4               II               II                   II 

1769-70, 

559.500 

17,484.37 

II                       II              II                  II                   l(                       II 

1774-75. 

370,000 

11,562.50 

965,500 

$30,171.87 

Grants  made  by  Gov.  Moore, 

1765-69, 

144.620 

4.5*9-37 

"      "      Dunmore, 

1770-71, 

455.950 

14,248.44 

it           it       it      it      Tryon, 

1771-74. 

486, 500 

15,203.12 

it       it      it           it 

1775-76, 

63,040 
2,115,610 

1,970.00 

Total  granted  by  all  the  governors 

$66,112.80 

Additional  fees  charged  for  these  grants : 

Secretary  of  the  Province,  $21,156.10 

Clerk  of  the  Council,  21,156.10 

Auditor  General,  9,784.71 

Receiver  General,  30,411.87 

Attorney  General,  15,867.08 

Surveyor  General,  26,445.13 

$124,820.99 
Total  fees  charged,  $190,933.79. 

Of  the  above  grants,  all  but  180,620  acres  were  granted  in  direct 
disobedience  to  the  Order  in  Council  of  1767.  Lieutenant  Governor 
Cadwallader  Colden,  acting  as  chief  magistrate,  treated  the  grants  made 
by  Benning  Wentworth  as  nullities  and  the  settlers  as  trespassers,  and 
went  on  making  grants  after  the  Order  in  Council  of  1767.  Governor 
Moore  respected  the  order.  By  the  rest  it  was  disregarded.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  above  grants  there  were  so-called  military  patents  covering 
303,100  acres,  making  in  all  2,418,710  acres  granted  in  this  state  by 
New  York  authorities.  It  is  charged  that  the  military  patents  were 
really  made  largely  for  the  benefit  of  speculators,  to  whom  the  officers 
and  soldiers,  having  come  from  Europe  and  desiring  to  return  thither, 
disposed  of  their  claims  for  trifling  sums.  (Vermont  Historical  Society 
<  lollei  dons,  I.  1  58-1  59.) 


APPENDIX 


297 


Table  B 

Governors  of  Vermont  (Legislative  Directory} 

Thomas  Chittenden, 

1778-S9 

Ryland  Fletcher, 

1856-58 

Moses  Robinson, 

1789-90 

Hiland  Hall, 

1858-60 

Thomas  Chittenden,1 

1790-97 

Erastus  Fairbanks, 

1860-61 

PaulBrigham,2  Aug.  25- 

-Oct.  16/97 

Frederick  Holbrook, 

1861-63 

Isaac  Tichenor, 

1 797-1 807 

J.  Gregory  Smith, 

1863-65 

Israel  Smith, 

1807-08 

Paul  Dillingham, 

1865-67 

Isaac  Tichenor, 

1808-09 

John  B.  Page, 

1867-69 

Jonas  Galusha, 

1809-13 

Peter  T.  Washburn,1 

1869-70 

Martin  Chittenden, 

1S13-15 

George  W.  Hendee,'2 

1S70- 

Jonas  Galusha, 

1815-20 

John  W.  Stewart, 

1870-72 

Richard  Skinner, 

1820-23 

Julius  Converse, 

1872-74 

Cornelius  P.  Van  Ness 

,     1823-26 

Asahel  Peck, 

1874-76 

Ezra  Butler, 

1S26-2S 

Horace  Fairbanks, 

1876-78 

Samuel  C.  Crafts, 

1828-31 

Redfield  Proctor, 

1878-80 

William  A.  Palmer, 

'831-35 

Roswell  Farnham, 

1880-82 

Silas  H.  Jennison,3 

1835-36 

John  L.  Bars  tow, 

1882-84 

Silas  H.  Jennison, 

1836-41 

Samuel  E.  Pingree, 

1884-86 

Charles  Paine, 

1 84 1 -43 

Ebenezer  J.  Ormsbee, 

1886-88 

John  Mattocks, 

1843-44 

William  P.  Dillingham, 

1888-90 

William  Slade, 

1844-46 

Carroll  S.  Page, 

1890-92 

Horace  Eaton, 

1846-48 

Levi  K.  Fuller, 

1892-94 

Carlos  Coolidge, 

1848-50 

Urban  A.  Woodbury, 

1 894-96 

Charles  K.  Williams, 

1850-52 

Josiah  Grout, 

1896-98 

Erastus  Fairbanks, 

1852-53 

Edward  C.  Smith, 

1 898- 1 900 

John  S.  Robinson, 

J853-54 

William  W.  Stickney, 

1900-02 

Stephen  Royce, 

1854-56 

John  G.  McCullogh, 

1902- 

1  Died  in  office. 

2  Lieutenant  Governor.     Governor  by  the  death  of  previous  incumbent. 

3  Lieutenant  Governor.     Governor  by  failure  of  the  people  to  elect. 


298 


HIS  TORY    OF    VERMONT 


Table  C 

Congressional    Districts    and    Senators    in    Congress 
(Legislative  Directory) 

The  state  is  divided  into  two  Congressional  Districts  as  follows  : 
District   I.      Composed  of   Addison,    Bennington,    Chittenden, 

Franklin,  Grand  Isle,   Lamoille,  and  Rutland  counties. 

District  II.     Composed  of  Caledonia,  Essex,  Orange,  Orleans, 

Washington,  Windham,  and  Windsor  counties. 


Senators  of  the  First 
Moses  Robinson,2 
Isaac  Tichenor,2 
Nathaniel  Chipman, 
Israel  Smith,2 
Jonathan  Robinson, 
Isaac  Tichenor, 
Horatio  Seymour, 
Benjamin  Swift, 
Samuel  S.  Phelps, 
Solomon  Foot,3 
George  F.  Edmunds,2 
Redfield  Proctor, 


Senators 

Class l 

Senators  of  the  Second  Class  l 

1791-96 

Stephen  R.  Bradley, 

1791-95 

1796-97 

Elijah  Paine, 

1795-1801 

I  797-1803 

Stephen  R.  Bradley, 

1801-13 

1803-07 

Dudley  Chase,2 

1813-17 

1807-15 

James  Fisk,2 

1817-18 

1815-21 

William  A.  Palmer, 

1818-25 

I82I-33 

Dudley  Chase. 

1825-31 

1833-39 

Samuel  Prentiss,2 

1831-42 

1839-51 

Samuel  C.  Crafts, 

1842-43 

1851-66 

William  Upham,3 

'S43-53 

1866-91 

Samuel  S.  Phelps, 

1853-54 

1891- 

Lawrence  Brainerd, 

l854-55 

Jacob  Collamer,3 

l855"65 

Luke  P.  Poland, 

1865-67 

Justin  S.  Morrill,3 

1867-99 

Jonathan  Ross, 

1 899- 1 900 

William  P.  Dillingham, 

1900- 

1  See  Constitution  United  States,  Article  I,  Section  3,  clause  2. 

2  Resigned.  3  Died  in  office. 


APPENDIX 


299 


Table   D 

Population   of   the    State   by    Decades   from   the 
First    Census   {Census  of  1 goo) 


Year 

Population 

Increase 

Per  Cent 

Density  per 
Square  Mile 

1790 

85,425 

9.4 

1800 

154,465 

69,040 

80.8 

16.9 

1810 

217,895 

63,430 

41. 1 

23-9 

1820 

235-981 

18,086 

8.3 

25.8 

1830 

280,652 

44,671 

18.9 

30.7 

1S40 

291,94s 

11,296 

4.0 

32.0 

1850 

314,120 

22,172 

7.6 

34-4 

i860 

315,098 

978 

0.3 

34-5 

1S70 

330,551 

15,453 

4-9 

36.2 

1880 

332,286 

i,735 

0.5 

36.4 

1890 

332,422 

136 

—  x 

36.4 

igco 

343,641 

11,219 

3-4 

37-6 

Less  than  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent  gain. 


;oo 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Table   E 


Population  of  Vermont  by  Counties  from  the  First 
Census  (Census  of  iqoo) 

When  the  first  census  was  taken  there  were  only  seven  counties. 
The  formation  of  other  counties  went  on  after  this  until  1S35,  when 
the  last  one  was  organized.  The  census  reports  since  1840,  there- 
fore, contain  the  distribution  of  population  among  all  the  present 
counties;  but  the  earlier  reports  do  not. 


Veak 

Addison 

Benning- 
ton 

Cale- 
donia1 

Chitten- 
den 

Essex 

Frank- 
lin 

Grand 
[sle 

6,449 

12,254 

7,295 





1 8<  >< ) 

i3,4i7 

14,617 

9-377 

,2,77S 

[,479 

8,782 



1S10 

19,993 

15,893 

18,730 

18,120 

3,087 

16,427 

3,445 

1820 

20,469 

16,125 

16,669 

l6,272 

3,284 

17,192 

3,527 

1S30 

24,940 

17,468 

20,967 

21,765 

3,98' 

24,525 

3,696 

1840 

23,583 

16,872 

21,891 

22,977 

4,226 

24.531 

3,883 

1850 

26,549 

18,589 

23,595 

29,036 

4,650 

2S,5S6 

4,145 

i860 

24,010 

19,436 

21,698 

28,171 

5,786 

27,231 

4,276 

1870 

23,484 

21,325 

22,235 

36,480 

6,811 

30,291 

4,082 

1880 

24,173 

21,950 

23,607 

32,792 

7,93i 

30,225 

4,124 

1890 

22,277 

20,448 

23,436 

35,389 

9,5" 

29,755 

3,843 

1900 

21,912 

21,705 

24,381 

39,600 

8,056 

30,198 

4,462 

Y  E  A  R 

La- 
moille 

Orange 

Orleans 

Rutland 

Wash- 
ington 2 

Wind- 
ham 

Wind- 
sor 

179O 



10,526 



'5,591 



i7,57o 

15.740 

1800 



18,238 

i,439 

23,813 



23,581 

26,944 

l8lO 



25,247 

5,830 

29,486 

26,760 

34,877 

1S2O 



24,681 

6,976 

29,983 

14,113 

28,457 

38,233 

1830 



27,285 

13,980 

31,294 

21,378 

28,748 

40,625 

1840 

io,475 

27,873 

i3/'34 

30,699 

23,506 

27,442 

40,356 

1850 

10,872 

27,296 

15,707 

33,059 

24,654 

29,062 

38,320 

i860 

>2,3'i 

25,455 

18,981 

35,946 

27,622 

26,982 

37,i93 

1870 

12,448 

23,090 

21,035 

40,651 

26,520 

26,036 

36,063 

1880 

12,684 

23.525 

22,083 

4 ',829 

25,404 

26,763 

35,196 

1S90 

12,831 

'9,575 

22,101 

45,397 

26,547 

31,706 

1900 

12,289 

'9,313 

22,024 

44,2oq 

36,61 7 

26,660 

32.225 

1  Part  of  Washington.     Annexed  since  1S90. 

2  Part  annexed  to  Caledonia  since  1890. 


APPENDIX 


301 


Table    F 

Population  of  Vermont  by  Towns  {Census  of  1 goo) 


Addison 851 

Albany 1,028 

Alburg i,474 

Andover 372 

Arlington I»I93 

Athens 180 

Averill 18 

Avery's  Gore 16 

Bakersfield 1,158 

Baltimore 55 

Barnard 840 

Barnet ^763 

Barre  (town) 3o4^ 

Barre  (city) 8,448 

Barton 2,790 

Barton  Village      ....  1,050 

Barton  Landing    ....  677 

Bellows  Falls 4>337 

Belvidere 428 

Bennington  (town)    .     .     .  8,033 

Bennington  (village)       .     .  5,65b 

Bennington  Center     .     .      .  215 

ATorth  Bennington     .     .     .  670 

Benson 844 

Berkshire 1,326 

Berlin 1,021 

Bethel 1,611 

Bloomfield 564 

Bolton 486 

Bradford l,33& 

Bradford  Village  ....  614 

Braintree 776 

Brandon 2,759 

Brattleboro  (town)    .     .     .  6,640 

Brattleboro  Village     .      .  5,297 


Bridgewater 972 

Bridport        956 

Brighton 2,023 

Bristol 2,061  ^ 

Brookfield 996 

Brookline 171 

Brownington 748 

Brunswick 106 

Buel's  Gore 20 

Burke 1,148 

Burlington 18,640 

Cabot 1,126 

Cabot  Village 22b 

Calais 1,101 

Cambridge 1,606 

Canaan 934 

Castleton 2,089 

Cavendish *,352 

Charleston 1,025 

Charlotte 1,254 

Chelsea 1,070 

Chester 1,775 

Chester  Village      ....  Q50 

Chittenden 621 

Clarendon 915 

Colchester 5»352 

Concord 1,129 

Corinth 978 

Cornwall 850 

Coventry 728 

Craftsbury 1,251 

Danby 964 

Danville 1,628 

Derby 3,274 


302 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Derby  Village 2qj 

Derby  Line 309 

Dorset i>477 

Dover 503 

Dummerston 726 

Duxbury 778 

last  Haven 171 

East  Montpelier  ....  1,061 

Eden 738 

Elmore 550 

Enosburg 2,o£4 

Enosburg  Falls     ....  954 

Essex 2<-Oj 

Essex  Junction     .     .     .     .  1,141 

Fairfax li33& 

Fairfield 1,830 

Faii-haven 2>999 

Fairhaven  Village     .     .     .  2,470 

Fairlee 438 

Fayston 466 

Ferdinand 41 

Ferrisburg 1,619 

Fletcher 750 

Franklin M45 

Georgia 1,280 

Glastonbury 48 

Glover 891 

Goshen 286 

Grafton 804 

Granby 1S2 

Grand  Isle 851 

Granville 544 

Greensboro 874 

Groton l*°S9 

Guildhall 455 

Guilford 7S2 


Halifax 662 

Hancock 253 

Ilardvvick 2,466 

Ifardwick  Village      .      .      .  1^34 

Hartford 3,817 

Hartland 1,340 

Ilighgate 1,980 

Ilinesburg 1,216 

Holland 838 

Hubbardton 488 

Huntington 728 

Hydepark 1,472 

Hydepark  Village      .     .     .  422 

Ira 35° 

Irasburg 939 

Isle  La  Motte 508 

Jamaica 8co 

Jay 53° 

Jericho 1,373 

Johnson L391 

Johnson  Village    ....  387 

KirbY 35° 

Landgrove 225 

Leicester 509 

Lemington 204 

Lewis 8 

Lincoln 1,152 

Londonderry 961 

Lowell 982 

Ludlow 2.042 

Ludlow  Village     .     .     .     .  1-454 

Lunenburg 96S 

Lyndon 2,95° 

Lyndon  Center     ....  232 

Lyndonville 1 .  -  7  4 


APPENDIX 


303 


Maidstone 206 

Manchester 1,955 

Marlboro 448 

Mai  shriek! 1,032 

Mendon  .           392 

Middlebury 3,045 

Middlebury  Village    .     .     .  1,897 

Middlesex SS3 

Middletown  Springs       .     .  746 

Milton i,So4 

Monkton 912 

Montgomery 1,876 

Montpelier 6,266 

Moretown 902 

Morgan 510 

Morristown 2*583 

Morrisville 1,262 

Mount  Holly 999 

Mount  Tabor 494 

Newark 500 

Newbury 2,125 

Newfane 905 

New  Haven 1,107 

Newport 3,lI3 

Newport  Village    ....  1,874 

Northfield 2,855 

Nor  th fie  Id  Village      .     .     .  1,508 

North  Hero 712 

North  Troy 562 

Norton 692 

Norwich 1,3°3 

Orange 598 

Orwell 1,150 

Panton 409 

Pawlet i»73i 

Peacham 794 

Peru 373 

Pittsfield 435 


Pittsford 1,866 

Plainfield 716 

Plainfield  Village       .     .     .  341 

Plymouth 646 

Pomfret 777 

Poultney 3>ioS 

Pownal ^976 

Powfial  Village     ....  401 

Proctor 2,136 

Proctor  Village      ....  2,013 

Putney 969 

Randolph 3>i4i 

Randolph  Village       .     .     .  1,540 

Reading 649 

Readsboro I*I39 

Readsboro  Village       .     .     .  658 

Richford 2,421 

Richford  Village    ....  1,513 

Richmond 1*057 

Ripton 525 

Rochester 1*250 

Rockingham 5*809 

Roxbury 712 

Royalton 1.427 

Rupert 863 

Rutland  (town)     .     .     .     .  1,109 

Rutland  (city) n>499 

Ryegate 995 

Salisbury 692 

Sandgate 482 

Searsburg 161 

Shaftsbury 1,857 

Sharon 709 

Sheffield 724 

Shelburne 1,202 

Sheldon t.  ^4 1 

Sherburne 402 

Shoreham 1 , 1 93 

Shrewsbury 935 


304 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Somerset 67 

South  Burlington      ...  971 

South  Hero 917 

Springfield 3>432 

Springfield  I' illagc    .     .     .  2,040 

St.  Albans  (town)      .     .     .  1,715 

St.  Albans  (city)  ....  6,239 

St.  George 90 

St.  Johnsbury 7,010 

St.  Johns  bury  Village     .     .  J, 666 

Stamford 677 

Stannard 222 

Starksboro 902 

Stockbridge 822 

Stowe 1,926 

Stowe  Village 300 

Strafford 1,000 

Stratton 271 

Sudbury 474 

Sunderland 518 

Sutton 694 

Swanton 3,745 

Swanton  Village    ....  1,168 

Thetford 1,249 

Tinmouth 404 

Topsham 1,117 

Townshend 833 

Troy 1,467 

Tunbridge 885 

Underhill 1,140 

Vergennes 1,753 

Vernon 578 

Vershire 641 

Victory 321 

Waitsfield 760 

Walden 764 

Wallingford x*575 


Waltham 264 

Wardsboro       637 

Warren 826 

Warren's  Gore      ....  18 

Washington 820 

Waterbury 2,810 

Waterbury  Village     .     .     .  i,S97 

Waterford 705 

Waterville 529 

Weathersfield       ....  1,089 

Wells 606 

Wells  River 565 

West  Derby 913 

West  Fairlee 531 

Westfield 646 

Westford 888 

Westhaven 355 

Westminster *>295 

Westmore 390 

Weston 756 

West  Rutland       .     .     .     .  2,914 

West  Windsor      ....  513 

Weybridge 518 

Wheelock 567 

Whiting 361 

Whitingham 1,042 

Williamstown 1,610 

Williston 1,176 

Wilmington 1,221 

Wilmington  Village  .     .     .  410 

Windham 356 

Windsor 2,119 

Windsor  Village    ....  1,636 

Winhall 449 

Winooski 3>7S6 

Wolcott       1,066 

Woodbury 862 

Woodford 279 

Woodstock 2,557 

Woodstock  Village      .     .     .  1,284 

Worcester 636 


APPENDIX- 


SOS 


Table  G 

Growth  of  Manufacturing  in  Vermont  since  1850 
{Census  of  1  goo) 


Average 

Increase 

Number  of 

Per  Cent 

Capital 

Number 

Amount  of 

Year 

Establish- 

Invested 

of  Wage 

W  ages  Paid 

Product 

ments 

Earners 

of 
Product 

1850 

1,849 

£5>°oi,377 

8,445 

$2,202,348 

$S, 570, 920 

_ 

i860 

1,883 

9,498,617 

io,497 

3,004,986 

14,637,807 

70.8 

1870 

3,270 

20,329,637 

iS,6S6 

6,264,581 

32,184,606 

n9.9» 

1880 

2,874 

23,265,224 

17,540 

5,164,479 

31,354,366 

-2.62 

1890 

3,031 

32,763,291 

22,119 

8,427-553 

38,340,066 

22.3 

1900 

4,071 

48,547,964 

29,455 

12,237,684 

57,623,815 

5o-4 

Table  H 

Agricultural  Industry  in  Vermont  since  1850 
{Census  of  1  goo) 


Year 

Number  of 

Farms 

Acreage 

Valuation  of 
Farm  Property 

Value  of  Product 

1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 

29,763 
3i,556 
33,827 
35,522 
32,573 
33,104 

4,125,822 
4,274,414 
4,52S,So4 
4,882,588 
4,395,646 
4,724,440 

£78,749,737 

114,196,989 

168,506,1893 

130,811,490 

101,805,370 

108,451,427 

$34,647,0273 

22,082,656 
20,364,980 
33,570,892 

1  The  cash  valuations  of  this  year,  and  consequently  the  ratio,  should  be 
scaled  down  about  one  fifth,  owing  to  the  depreciated  currency  in  which  the 
returns  were  made. 

2  Decrease. 

3  Diminish  one  fifth  to  reduce  to  a  specie  basis. 


;o6 


HISTORY    OF    VERMO.N  1 


Table  I 


Agricultural  Products  in   1850  (Census  ofi8jo) 


Wool  produced 3.400,717  lbs. 

Butter 1 2.137,980 

Cheese 8.720.834 


Maple  sugar  .  . 
Hops  .... 
Beeswax  and  honev 

Flax ' 

Hay 

Buckwheat       .     . 

Barley 

Peas  and  beans    . 


6,349,357 
288,023 
249^22 

20.85: 
866,153  ton 
209,819  bu. 

42,150    " 
104,649    " 


Irish  potatoes 4.951,014 

Orchard  products $3ISt2SS 

Home-made  manufactures           .     . 
Maiket  wardens 


5267.710 
818.853 


APPENDIX  307 

Table  J 

I 

The  Leading  Manufactures  in   1840,  arranged  in  the 
Order  of  Relative  Importance  (Census  0/1840) 

Producing  the  value  of 
Wool:  fulling  mills,       239^ 

manufactories,     95  J ^oj^y^J 

Mills:  flouring  mills,  7  (4,495  bbls.);  sawmills,  1,081  ;"1 

oil  mills,  20;  gristmills,  312                                   J  lfl*3>l24 

Bricks  and  lime 402,218 

Leather,  saddlery,  etc 361,468 

Lumber 346,939 

Paper,  17  manufactories 179,720 

Carriages  and  wagons 162,097 

Cotton,  7  factories  (7,254  spindles) 113,000 

Machinery 101,354 

Furniture 83,275 

Ships  and  vessels  built 72,000 

Hats,  caps,  and  straw  bonnets 65,251 

Granite,  marble,  etc 62,515 

Glasshouses,  2  establishments       55>oo° 

Drugs,  medicines,  paints,  and  dyes 38,475 

Various  metals  (not  precious  metals) 24,900 

Potteries,  8  establishments        23,000 

Hardware,  cutlery,  etc 16,650 

Value  of  all  manufactures  for  which  figures  are 

given  in  the  census $5,593,842 

Total  capital  invested  in  manufactures    ....  $4,326,440 

Employees  enumerated 7,000 

In  addition  to  the  above  list  of  manufactures  there  were  produced 
718^  tons  of  pot  and  pearl  ash ;  furs  and  skins  to  the  value  of  $1,750  ; 
precious  metals  to  the  value  of  $3,000 ;  39  pounds  of  silk ;  a  small  amount 
of  flax;  1,158  small  arms;  50,300  pounds  of  soap;  28,687  pounds  of 
tallow  ;  ginseng  and  forest  products,  $2,500;  musical  instruments,  $2,200. 
There  were  in  the  state  29  printing  offices,  14  binderies,  2  daily  news- 
papers, 26  weeklies,  2  semi-weeklies,  3  periodicals.  There  were  paper 
manufactures  of  playing  cards,  etc.,  not  included  in  the  list  above, 
amounting  to  $35,000.  There  were  261  tanneries  which  tanned  102,763 
sides  of  sole  leather  and  102,937  sides  of  upper  leather.  There  were 
two  distilleries  making  3,500  gallons  of  liquor,  and  one  brewery  producing 
1 2,800  gallons.  There  were  two  ropewalks  making  $4,000  worth  of  cordage. 


308  HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 


II 

The  Leading  Manufactures  in  i860,  arranged  in  the 
Order  of  Relative  Importance  (Census  of  i860) 

Establishments  Producing;  the  value  of 

Woolen  goods 45 $2,936,826 

Flour  and  meal 123 1,659,898 

Leather 108 1,002,853 

Marble  works 50 946,235 

Sawed  lumber 404 901,519 

Marble  quarries 16  ....     ;  7I5'55° 

Machinery 24 501,276 

Carriages 133 475'o6° 

Boots  and  shoes 148 440,366 

Tin,  copper,  and  sheet-iron  ware  .       60 280,201 

Furniture 64 268,735 

Clothing 39 250,669 

Iron  castings 18 231,230 

Blacksmithing 167 207,786 

Slate  quarrying 14 207,150 

Industries  producing  over  $200,000  are  given. 


Ill 

The  Leading  Manufactures  in  1870,  arranged  in  the 
Order  of  Relative  Importance  {Census  of  18/0) 

Establishments  Producing  the  value  of 

Woolen  goods 43 $3>550>9°2 

Sawed  lumber     ........     347 3,142,307 

Planed  lumber    .......        13 2,526,228 

Flouring  mills 81 2,071,594 

Scales  and  balances 2 1,629,000 

Tanned  leather  .......       86 1,249,942 

Marble  and  stone  work    ....       29 960,984 

Carriages  and  sleds 169 839,029 

Leather,  curried 64 762,571 

Machinery 37 756,080 

Hosiery 7 55LI29 

Boots  and  shoes 20 5477^9 

Cotton  goods 8 546,5Jo 

Furniture 47 54Q,521 

Agricultural  implements        ...       45 523,669 

Sashes,  doors,  and  blinds      ...       43 518,125 

Tin,  copper,  and  sheet-iron  ware  .       97 505,005 

Industries  producing  over  $500,000  are  given. 


APPENDIX  309 


IV 

The  Leading  Manufactures  in  1880,  arranged  in  the 

Order  of  Relative  Importance  {Census  0/1880) 

Establishments  Producing  the  value  of 

Sawed  lumber 688 #3,258,816 

Woolen  goods 44 3,217,807 

Flouring  and  grist  mills   ....     227 3,038,688 

Planed  lumber 18 2,709,522 

Scales  and  balances 3 2,080,474 

Marble  and  stone  work    ....       69 1,303,790 

Mixed  textiles 7 1,277,903 

Paper,  not  specified 13 1,237,484 

Tanned  leather 53 1,084,503 

Cotton  goods 8 915,864 

Foundry  and  machine  shops     .     .       45 783,828 

Agricultural  implements       ...        35 718,455 

Musical  instruments,  organs,  and 

materials 2 680,800 

Hosiery  and  knit  goods   ....         6 595,270 

Curried  leather 24 53°>337 

Industries  producing  over  $500,000  are  given. 


V 

The  Leading  Manufactures  in  1890,  arranged  in  the 
Order  of  Relative  Importance  {Census  of  18 go) 

Establishments  Producing  the  value  oj 

Lumber,  and  other  mill  products 

from  logs  or  bolts 736 #6,843,817 

Flouring  and  grist  mills   ....217 2,890,174 

Woolen  goods 29 2,723,683 

Paper 14 2,289,901 

Planing-mill  products 31 1,868,760 

Marble  and  stone  work    ....       46 1,656,637 

Cheese,  butter,  and  condensed  milk     123 1,602,641 

Monuments  and  tombstones     .     .       96 1,492,384 

Foundry  and  machine  shops     .     .       61 1,199,067 

Hosiery  and  knit  goods   ....        10 1,105,958 

Cotton  goods 6 914,685 

Carpentering 76 843,795 

Musical  instruments 3 794,346 

Patent  medicines  and  compounds         13 777,111 

Industries  producing  over  $750,000  are  given. 


3io 


IIISTOkV    OF    VERMONT 


VI 

The  Leading  Manufactures  in   1900,  arranged  in  the 
Order  of   Relative  Importance  (Census  of  /goo) 


Establish  ments 

Lumber  and  timber 658 

Cheese,  butter,  and  condensed  milk  255 

Monuments  and  tombstones     .      .  268 

Paper  and  wood  pulp        ....  27 

Flouring  and  grist  mills   .      .     .     .  211 
Planing-mill     products,    including 

sashes,  doors,  and  blinds     .     .  46 

Woolen  goods 23 

Marble  and  stone  work    ....  54 

Foundry  and  machine  shops     .     .  61 

Patent  medicines  and  compounds  24 

Hosiery  and  knit  goods    ....  14 

Furniture  factories 24 

Carpentering 78 

Industries  producing  over  $1,000,000  are  given 


Producing  the  value  of 
$6,131,808 

5,656,265 
4,045,611 
3>3y4,773 
3>222>347 

2,598,581 
2,572,646 
2,484,551 
2,185,510 
2,125,016 
1,834,685 
1,252,742 
1,245,507 


INDEX 


Abenakis  Indians,  5. 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  138,  235. 

Agriculture,  transition  in,  between 
1812  and  Civil  War,  213-217; 
since  1850,  306. 

Albany,  N.Y.,  trial  of  cases  at,  75, 
76  ;  market  at,  for  settlers,  145. 

Algonquins,  battle  with  Iroquois,  4. 

Allen,  Ebenezer,  frees  Dinah  Mat- 
tis,  234. 

Allen,  Ethan,  75 ;  characteristics 
of,  78-79 ;  reward  offered  for, 
80 ;  leads  attack  on  Ticonderoga, 
91  ;  line  of  march,  92  ;  demands 
surrender,  93  ;  taken  prisoner  at 
Montreal,  94  ;  sent  to  England, 
94  ;  returned  to  New  York,  94  ; 
ordered  to  suppress  riots  in 
Windham  County,  124;  ap- 
proached by  British,  130  ;  wrrites 
to  Congress,  131  ;  death  of,  135. 

Allen,  Ira,  on  Haldimand  negotia- 
tions, 132-133. 

American  Institute  of  Instruction, 
229. 

American  Revolution,  bearing  of, 
on  situation  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  90,  111-114,  117- 
119;  share  of  Vermont  in,  90- 
106 ;  benefits  to  Vermont  from, 
110-112;  rapid  settlement  dur- 
ing, 122;  inducements  to  set- 
tlers, 123  ;  Ticonderoga,  91-94; 


Crown  Point,  93,  96;  retreat 
from  Ticonderoga,  98 ;  Hub- 
bardton,  98-99 ;  Bennington, 
103-106.  See  also  Bennington 
and  Burgoyne. 

Amherst,  General,  at  Crown  Point, 
41,  48. 

Ammonoosuc,  31,  32. 

Antietam,  battle  of,  245. 

Appendix,  273-310. 

Apple  sauce,  apple  butter,  205. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  joins  expedition 
against  Ticonderoga,  91-92 ; 
captures  British  sloop,  93  ;  com- 
mands American  flotilla  on  Lake 
Charnplain,  95  ;  burns  his  fleet, 
96. 

Arrow  points,  8 ;  illustrations  of, 
h  8,  9. 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  illustration  of, 
225  ;  birthplace  of,  224. 

Artisans  in  early  communities, 
141. 

Asheries,  63;  at  Burke,  165. 

Ashes,  value  of,  62,  63,  147,  168. 

Association  of  smugglers,  190;  of 
anti-smugglers,  190. 

Axes,  Indian  manufacture  of,  10; 
illustrations  of,  9 ;  of  settlers, 
illustration,  193. 

Bailey,  General,  at  Newbury,  44. 
Bailey,  Phineas,  225. 


3" 


312 


HISTORY    OF   VERMONT 


Baker,  Remember,  reward  offered 
for,  8 1  • 

Banks,  agitation  for,  1 58 ;  bank 
measure  vetoed,  159;  establish 
ment  of,  in  1 806,  1 59 ;  incor- 
poration of,  225. 

Barnard,  fort  at,  during  Revolu- 
tion, 106. 

Barton,  General,  builds  sawmill, 
167. 

Barton  Landing,  168;  fight  with 
smugglers  at,  189. 

Barton  River,  Indian  route  along, 
1 8 ;  followed  by  Rogers's  rangers, 

32- 

Barton,  settlement  of,  167  ;  river 
used  by  settlers,  168. 

Baum,  at  Bennington,  101  ;  tactics 
of,  103-104. 

Beach,  Major,  92. 

Beaver,  hunted  by  Indians,  12; 
move  northward,  144. 

Bees,  logging,  clearing,  etc.,  203, 
205,  209 ;  cooperative  element 
in,  209 ;  social  element  in,  209. 

Bellows  Falls,  Indian  inscription 
near,  1 1 . 

Bennington,  grant  and  settlement 
of,  47-48 ;  action  of,  regarding 
disputed  titles,  76 ;  leadership 
of,  77;  military  stores  at,  100; 
battle  of,  103-106;  portrait  of 
veterans  of,  103;  estimate  of 
battle  at,  105  ;  memorial  monu- 
ment at,  107;  newspaper  estab- 
lished at,  157. 

Berkshire,  removal  of  women  and 
children  from,  109. 

Bethel,  fort  at,  during  Revolution, 
106. 


Beverages,  57. 

Bibliography,  286-289. 

Bill  of  credit,  facsimile  of,  158. 

Blacksmithing,  142. 

Black  Snake,  smuggling  boat,  186. 

Boston,  market  for  settlers,  151. 

Brattleboro,  Indian  rock  at,  10. 

Breakenridge,  attack  on  farm  of,77. 

Breweries,  built  by  lottery,  162. 

Breyman,  commander  of  British 
reserve,  10 1  ;  sent  to  reenforce 
Baum,  103,  104. 

Bridges,  built  by  lottery,  162; 
bridge  over  which  Hessians 
marched  to  Bennington,  illustra- 
tion of,  97. 

Burgoyne,  extract  from  letter  of, 
90 ;  invasion  by,  98  ;  captures 
Ticonderoga,  98  ;  march  of,  ob- 
structed, 100;  proclamation  of, 
107  ;  details  division  to  capture 
supplies,  101  ;  terror  caused  by 
invasion  of,  108,  109. 

Burke,  early  settlers  of,  165. 

Burlington,  threatened  attack  on, 
175  ;  field  officers  meet  at,  238  ; 
old  view7  of,  218;  college  estab- 
lished at,  155;  lumber  trade  at, 
217. 

Butchering,  206. 

Cabinet  work  in  18 10,  142. 
Caledonia    County,    early  growth 

of,  164;  settled  by  Scotch,  164; 

how  named,  165. 
Calumet,  10. 
Canada,  invasion   of,  94 ;    retreat 

from,  94  ;  project  to  invade,  1 32  ; 

winter  trade  to,  147  ;  attempted 

invasion  of,  173. 


INDEX 


313 


Canadians  set  fire  to  barracks  at 
1  >erby,  187. 

Canals,  217,  219. 

Candle  making,  60. 

Carding  mills,  152,  153. 

Carleton,  British  commander, 
abandons  Montreal,  94 ;  cap- 
tures Crown  Point,  96;  threat- 
ens Ticonderoga,  96  ;  returns  to 
Canada,  96. 

Cartier,  enters  the  St.  Lawrence,  1 ; 
at  Hochelaga,  2. 

Castleton,  rendezvous  for  volun- 
teers, 9 1  ;  retreat  through,  9S,  99. 

Catamount  Tavern,  47,  79 ;  illus- 
trations of,  78,  79,  80. 

Cattle,  smuggling  of,  188-190; 
breeds  of,  216. 

Caughnawaga  Indians,  market  of, 
169  ;  claim  to  land  in  Vermont, 
169-170. 

Chaise,  one-horse,  illustration  of, 
210. 

Chambly,  Falls  of,  3,  95. 

Champlain,  Samuel  de,  extract 
from  journal  of,  1,  3;  discovery 
of  Vermont  by,  3;  battle  with 
Iroquois,  4. 

Champlain  Valley,  archaeology  of, 
6,  8 ;  scouting  in,  24,  29 ;  mili- 
tary posts  in,  90  ;  campaign  of 
1777  in,  96,  98-99;  in  War  of 
1812,  173,  174;  canal  in,  217, 
219. 

Charleston,  Indian  visits  to,  5 ; 
settlement  of,  167. 

Charlestown,  N.  H.  See  Fort 
Number  Four. 

Cheese  basket,  214;  press,  215; 
factory  system,  215. 


Chimney  Point,  stone  fort  at,  24 ; 
evacuation  of,  29 ;  settlement 
near,  49. 

Chisels,  Indian  manufacture  of,  8  ; 
illustrations  of,  7. 

Chittenden,  Martin,  Federalist 
governor,  176,  191. 

Chittenden,  Thomas,  letter  to  Con- 
gress, 120;  negotiations  with 
British,  131 ;  character  and  serv- 
ices of,  139. 

Chronological  table,  289-295. 

Churches,  61,  T47. 

Circulars  of  educational  informa- 
tion, 265. 

Civil  War,  234-254;  Vermont's 
preparation  for,  236;  military 
equipment  in  1861,  237;  attack 
on  Fort  Sumter,  237 ;  popular 
feeling,  237  ;  private  donations, 
237  ;  tactics,  field  of  action,  ar- 
mies of  the  North  and  South, 240 ; 
first  Vermont  regiment,  241  ; 
succeeding  regiments,  241 ;  serv- 
ice of  the  "  Old  Brigade,"  241- 
242  ;  Peninsular  campaign,  242  ; 
second  Bull  Run  campaign,  244  ; 
McClellan  superseded  by  Burn- 
side,  245  ;  storming  of  Marye's 
Heights,  245  ;  Hooker  succeeds 
Burnside,  245  ;  Lee  invades  the 
North,  246 ;  Gettysburg,  246- 
247 ;  General  Grant  assumes 
command  of  Union  armies,  248; 
campaigns  under  Grant,  24S ; 
Shenandoah  Valley,  249 ;  Sheri- 
dan's ride,  249 ;  Sherman's  march 
through  the  South,  249;  Lee 
surrenders,  250;  Vermont's  con- 
tribution  to  the  war,    251-253; 


3^4 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


losses  of  Vermont  troops,  252, 
253;  McMahon  on  Vermont 
troops,  251  ;  Sheridan's  eulogy  of 
Vermont  soldiers,  253;  effects 
of  war  on  industrial  conditions, 
255-257- 

Clark,  Admiral,  birthplace  of,  271  ; 
services  of,  as  captain,  271. 

Clinton,  Governor  George,  grants 
land  in  Vermont,  68. 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  letter  to,  from 
Lord  Germaine,  132. 

Clyde  River,  trout  in,  167. 

Cobblers,  142,  207. 

Cohasse  intervals,  5  ;  Indians  stop 
at,  with  captives,  22  ;  Rogers's 
party   at,    33 ;    attract    settlers, 

49-5°- 

Coinage  in  Vermont,  159. 

Coins,  early  Vermont,  description 
of,  1 59-1 61  ;  illustrations  of,  160. 

Colchester,  ornamental  jar  found 
at,  9,  10. 

Cold  Harbor,  battle  of,  248. 

Cold  seasons  of  1813  and  1816, 
168,  197-199. 

Colleges  previous  to  1812,  155. 

Colonial  politics,  13-15. 

Colonization,  English  and  French 
methods  of,  15-17. 

Committees,  service  of,  in  Ver- 
mont, 82,  84 ;  in  Revolution,  82, 
84. 

Committee  system  as  a  revolution- 
ary organization,  82. 

Committee  of  Correspondence,  of 
Dummerston,  86 ;  of  Boston, 
91. 

Committee  of  Safety,  Massachu- 
setts, 91. 


Communal  organization,  e 
of,  58. 

Confiance,  the,  179, 

Congress,  Continental,  vote  to  pay- 
Green  Mountain  Boys  for  serv- 
ices, 93 ;  attitude  of,  on  ques- 
tion of  admitting  Vermont  to 
Union,  127,  136,  138;  influence 
of  Germaine  letter  on,  133. 

Congressional  Districts,  298. 

Connecticut,  46 ;  settlers  from,  47, 
48,  86 ;  patriots  in,  plan  to  tak 
Ticonderoga,  91. 

Conventions,  84 ;  constitutional, 
1 1 3-1 17;  nature  and  origin  of, 
119,  n. 

Cooperation  throughout  all  social 
organization,  194-195. 

Coos  meadows,  or  Cohasse  inter- 
vals, 5 ;  Indians  with  captives 
stop  at,  22  ;  Rogers's  party  at, 
33 ;  attract  settlers,  49,   50. 

Coosuck  Indians,  branch  of  Algon- 
quins,  5. 

Copper  articles  used  by  Indians, 
10;  illustrations  of,  8. 

Corinth,  fort  at,  during  Revolution, 
106. 

Corn,  shellers,  205  ;  husking,  205  ; 
games  with,  205. 

Cotton,  151  ;  amount  used  in  1S10, 
153;  invention  of  cotton  gin, 
153;  cotton  wool,   153. 

Council  of  Safety,  79,  82. 

Counterfeiting,  157,  161. 

Counties,  163;  under  New  York, 
277  ;  formation  of  present,  277. 

Courthouses,  building  of,  162,  191. 

Coventry,  famine  in,  168. 

Crab  Island  Shoal,  176. 


INDEX 


JM5 


..ry,        smugglers'        cattle 

^  .aided  at,   1S9. 
Grampton's  Gap,  battle  of,  244. 
Crawford   Notch,   route    through, 

166. 
Crops,  failure  of,  in  1816,  198-199; 

diversity  of  early,  201-202. 
Cross,  James,  diary  of,  39. 
Crown  Point,  captured  by  Warner, 

93 ;  American    fleet    overtaken 

at,   96 ;    captured  by   Carleton, 

96. 
Crystal    Lake,   point    on    Indian 

route,  18;   Rogers  stops  at,  32; 

old  Indian  camping  ground,  167. 
Cumberland  County,  roads  in,  43  ; 

court  of,  87. 
Cumberland  Head,  176. 

Dairy  products  in  1840,  215;  mod- 
ern dairy  system,  258-259. 

Danby,  training  school  for  teach- 
ers at,  155. 

Davenport,  Thomas,  electrical  in- 
ventions of,  225. 

Debtors,  125;  legislation  for,  126. 

Deerfield,  raid  on,  21. 

Delaplace,  commander  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  93. 

Derby  in  War  of  18 12,  173,  174, 
180,  1 87,  1 88. 

Dewey,  Admiral,  services  of,  as 
commodore,  270 ;  illustration  of, 
birthplace  of,  270. 

Dishes,  wooden,  194. 

Disorder  in  Rutland  and  Windsor 
counties,  1 26. 

Distaff,  151. 

Dorset,  regiment  formed  at,  94; 
constitutional    conventions    at, 


1  13-114;    manufacture   of  nun 
ble  fireplace  stones  at,  148. 

Dummer,  Fort,  building  of,  25-27  ; 
Captain  Kellogg  at,  28;  scouting 
parties  of,  27-29,  41  ;   life  at,  36. 

Dummerston,  leads  movement 
against  royal  authority,  86 ; 
chooses  committee  of  corre- 
spondence, 86. 

Dutch  settle  at  Manhattan,  13. 

Dyes,  homemade  vegetable,  208. 

Eagle,  The,  175. 

Echo  Pond,  167. 

Edmunds,  George  F.,  Senator,  229  ; 
work  fornational  university,  230. 

Education,  first  schools,  61-63  '• 
previous  to  181 2,  154-155;  de- 
velopment of,  before  Civil  War, 
226-230;  "oldredschoolhouse," 
227  ;  services  of  "Father"  Hall, 
228-229;  teachers'  association, 
229;  educational  work  since 
Civil  War,  263-269 ;  normal 
schools,  265,  267,  268 ;  teachers' 
institutes,  265  ;  county  examina- 
tions, 266 ;  town  system,  267  ; 
school  buildings,  267 ;  develop- 
ment of  high  schools,  267-268 ; 
recent  legislation,  26S.  See  also 
Superintendent  of  education. 

Electrical  inventions,  225. 

Embargo,  of  1807,  effect  of,  on 
trade,  182;  of  180S,  183. 

English  settlers,  colonial  politics 
of,  14. 

"Equivalent  lands,"  13.  n. 

Erie  Canal,  21 8-2 19. 

Estey,  Jacob,  224  ;  Estey  organs, 
224. 


3i6 


HISTORY   OF    VERMONT 


Factory  system,  development  of, 

260-261. 
Fairbanks,  Governor  Erastus,  on 

slavery    issue,    234,    238;    calls 
special    session    of    legislature, 

Fairbanks,  Joseph,  223. 

Fairbanks,  Thaddaeus,  inventor  of 
scales,  223. 

Fairhaven,  paper  mill  at,  146. 

Farming,  farm  property  in  i860, 
221;  early  hay  farms,  144; 
dairy  farms,  144  ;  farm  products 
before  1812,  145;  changes  in 
farm  implements,  216. 

Fay,  Stephen,  landlord  of  Cata- 
mount Tavern,  79. 

Fences,  board,  59 ;  slash,  201  ; 
Virginia,  201. 

Fireplaces,  59;  used  for  cooking, 
60;  illustration  of,  61  ;  in  school- 
houses,  62;  in  Catamount  Tav- 
ern, 80. 

Flannel,  home  manufacture  of, 
152  ;  uses  of,  152. 

Flax,  151;  illustration  of  wheel, 
152. 

Fly,  The,  revenue  cutter,  captures 
Black  Snake,  186. 

Foot  pans,  203,  204. 

Fort  Number  Four,  20 ;  relief 
party  sent  from,  32;  Rogers 
arrives  at,  33;  Melvin's  party 
calls  at,  41  ;  road  cut  from,  to 
Crown  Point,  42,  44 ;  settlers 
obtain  supplies  from,   50. 

Fortifications,  remains  of  Indian,  8. 

Forts,  temporarily  occupied  dur- 
ing Revolution,  106  ;  French,  on 
Richelieu  River,  23;  on  Isle  La 


Motte,  23  ;  English  at  Chimney 
Point,  24;  Dummer,  25-29,  36, 
40,  41.  See  also  Crown  Point, 
Ticonderoga,  and  Fort  Number 
Four. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  obtains  Ger- 
maine  letter,  132. 

Franklin  County,  smuggling 
through,   190. 

French,  colonial  politics  of,  14; 
methods  of  colonizing,  15. 

French  and  Indian  wars,  1 3-37  ; 
cause  of,  1 5 ;  result  of,  46 ;  Indian 
raids,  20-22;  Indian  trails,  17- 
20;  scouting  parties,  27-29,  34; 
Rogers's  raid,  30-33.  See  also 
St.  Francis  Indians,  Fort  Dum- 
mer, Deerfield,  Crown  Point, 
and  Stark. 

French  River,  19. 

French,  William,  shot  at  West- 
minster, 88,  89. 

Frontier  life,  51-65;  posts,  22-24. 

Fruit  raising  by  first  settlers,  57, 
145. 

Fur  trade,  its  bearing  on  colonial 
politics,  16. 

Game,  prevalence  of,  12;  gradual 
extinction  of,  144,  169. 

Games,  with  corn  for  counters,  205. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  at  Ben- 
nington, 235. 

Geographical  notes,  273-277. 

Geological  notes,  278-280. 

Geological  wealth,  industries  de- 
pending on,  261. 

George  III,  68,  73. 

Germaine,  Lord  George,  letter  to, 
90,  107;  letter  of,  132,  137. 


INDEX 


317 


Gettysburg,  battle  of,  246-247. 

Glass  factory  at  Lake  Dunmore, 
147.    ( 

Gouges,  Indian  manufacture  of,  8. 

Government,  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants  and  in  New  York, 
contrasted,  71  ;  early  form  of, 
in  the  grants,  81-84.  See  also 
Vermont. 

Governors  of  Vermont,  list  of, 
297. 

Graham,  J.  A.,  Descriptive  Sketch 
of  Vermont,  143,  n. 

Grammar  schools  and  academies, 

Grand  Isle,  Indian  relics  on,  8. 

Granite  industry,  224,  262-263. 

Granitic  Mountains,  274-275. 

Grants,  number  and  extent  of,  in 
1765,  50  ;  controversy  with  New 
York,  66-89;  form  of  self-gov- 
ernment, 81-84. 

Green  Mountains,  5,  274. 

Green  Mountain  Boys,  78  ;  choose 
their  own  leaders,  92,  94 ;  cap- 
ture Ticonderoga,  92-93 ;  fur- 
ther service  of,  in  Revolutionary 
War,  94,  95. 

Gristmills,   55,  58 ;  tolls  taken  at, 

53- 
Growler ;  The,  175. 

Haldimand  negotiations,  130-133, 

*37- 

Hall,  Samuel  R.,  educational  pio- 
neer, 228,  229. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  public  serv- 
ices of,  135  ;  position  of,  concern- 
ing the  New  York  controversy, 
135- 


Hampton,    General,    stationed    at 

Burlington,  175. 
Hams,  smoking,  206. 
Harmon,    Reuben,    coins    copper 

money,  159. 
Harrington,      Judge,      pronuncia- 

mento  on  slavery,  235. 
Hart,  Miss  Emma,  teacher,  229. 
Harvesting,  205. 
Hatchels,  150,  151. 
Hay  reeve,  58. 
Haying,  202. 

Hazen  road,  the,  44,  45,  164,   188. 
Hochelaga,  Indian  village  of,  2. 
Hog  ward,  5S. 
Homes,  early,  primitive  character 

of,  54,  58-60. 
Honey,  use  of,  in  place  of  sugar, 

56,  57- 

Hoosac  Valley,  47. 

Horses,  Morgan,  215. 

Hosiery  and  knit  goods,  manufac- 
ture of,  260. 

Houses,  brick  and  mortar,  145- 
146. 

Howe,  General,  193. 

Hubbardton,  battle  of,  98-99. 

Indian  road,  the,  19-20;  Melvin's 
expedition  on,  41  ;  cut  out  by 
white  men  as  a  military  road,  42. 

Indians,  degree  of  civilization  of, 
11;  mode  of  life  of,  n,  12;  atti- 
tudes of,  toward  the  French  and 
English,  16;  trails  of,  17-20; 
raids  of,  20-22,  108-109;  claims 
of,  to  land  in  Vermont,  169-170  ; 
peaceful  visits  of,  5,  168,  169. 

Industries,  rise  of,  63;  develop- 
ment of,  due  to  transportation, 


3i8 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


140;  changes  in,  after  the  War 

of  181  2,  140;  extractive,  192;  or- 
ganization of,  195;  leading,  in 
1900,  258;  analysis  of,  258-263. 

Inscriptions,  Indian,  10,  II. 

Insurance  companies,  225. 

Intelligence,  evidence  of,  in  early 
communities,  61-63,  155-156. 

Internal  improvements,  218. 

Inventiveness,  American,  193-194. 

[rasburg,  smugglers  at,  190. 

Iron  industry,  early  foundries  and 
forges,  142-144;  effect  of  the 
War  of  1812  on,  143,  174. 

Iroquois, battle  with  Algonquins,4. 

Isle  La  Motte,  Arnold  at,  95  ;  Brit- 
ish fleet  at,  176. 

Itinerant  craftsmen,  cobblers  and 
weavers,  207. 

Jackman,  Alonzo,  225. 

Jails,  building  of,  191. 

Jarvis,  William,  consul  to  Portu- 
gal, sends  merino  sheep  to  Ver- 
mont, 213. 

Jay,  John,  land  grant  to,  136. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  visits  Vermont, 
183;  embargo  policy  of,  183; 
proclamation  of,  184;  reply  of 
St.  Albans  citizens  to,  185;  rela- 
tion of,  to  internal  improve- 
ments, 218. 

Jesuit  Relations y  17. 

Jesuits,  work  among  Indians,  16. 

Journal  of  the  Times,  235. 

Jurisdiction,  change  of,  in  New 
Hampshire  Grants,  70-71. 

Kellogg,  Captain,  at  Fort  Hummer, 
2S;   journal  of,  28-21;. 


Lake    Champlain,   discovered   by 

Samuel  de  Champlain,  3  ;  I  ndian 
battle  on  shore  of,  4;  Indian 
route  on,  19,  20 ;  forts  on,  23,  24  ; 
naval  engagements  on,  95-96; 
in  War  of  1812,  174-181  ;  lum- 
ber trade  on,  149-150;  steam 
navigation  on,  149-183;  smug- 
gling on,  184-186.  See  also 
Crown   Point  and  Ticonderoga. 

Lake  George,  Burgoyne's  portage 
from,  98. 

Lake  Memphremagog,  an  Indian 
fishing  ground,  168. 

Lakes  and  ponds,  276. 

Land  tenure  in  New  York  and  in 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  70- 

Lead  mine,  146. 

Lee's  Mill,  battle  of,  241. 

Libraries,  early  town,  155;  growth 

of  endowed,  229;  spread  of,  since 

Civil  War,  269. 
Lime,  early  use   of,   as    fertilizer, 

144. 
Lincoln,  President,  calls  for  troops, 

237,  238. 
Linen,    process    of    making,    151; 

quantity    made    in     18 10,    152, 

154. 
Linnet,  The,  177. 
Looms,  in    1S10,    154;    illustration 

of,  with  rag  carpet,  208. 
Lotteries,  uses  of,  161 -162. 
Lumber,  small  value  of,  to  early 

settlers,  63;  early  trade  in,  1 4«>— 

150;  industry  in  1900,259;  busi- 
ness transition  in,  260. 
Lyndon,  early  market  for  northern 

towns,  167. 


INDEX 


319 


Macdonough,  172,  175.  176,  177, 
178.  181. 

Manchester,  Stark  at,  102  ;  schools 
of,  146. 

Manhattan,  settlement  of,  13. 

Manufactures,  leading,  from  1840 
to  1900,  307-310. 

Manufacturing,  in  i860,  221-224; 
growth  of,  since  1850,  305. 

Map  exercises,  280-281. 

Maple  sugar,  early  method  of 
making,  56 ;  Indian  mode  of 
making,  56 ;  old  and  modem 
methods  compared,  199-200. 

Maps,  list  of,  281. 

Marble,  quarry  at  Middlebury,  148 ; 
industry  before  Civil  War,  224; 
industry  since  Civil  War,  261- 
262. 

Markets,  colonial  local,  142  ;  at 
Boston,  151;  at  Portland,  151; 
at  Montreal,  150,  168,  171  ;  at 
Quebec,  149,  150,  168,  171;  at 
Albany.  145;  at  Troy,  144;  at 
New  York.   145,   217,   218. 

Marsh,  George  P.,  minister  to 
Italy.  237. 

Marye's  Heights,  storming  of,  245. 

Massachusetts,  gives  the  "  equiv- 
alent lands "  to  Connecticut, 
1 3,  n.;  votes  to  build  blockhouse, 
13,  22  ;  votes  to  survey  military 
road,  42  ;  western  boundary  of, 
67  ;  settlers  from,  86 ;  Committee 
of  Safety.  91  ;  claims  Vermont 
territory,  128. 

Massachusetts  Court  Records,  ex- 
tract from,  13. 

Mattis,  Dinah,  freed  from  slavery, 
2  34- 


McClellan,  General,  242,  243,  245. 

Melvin,  Captain  K.,  military  ex- 
pedition of,  40-41. 

Memorial  of  people  of  St.  Albans, 
.85. 

Memphremagog,  Rogers  at  Lake, 

Merino  sheep,  importation  of,  213. 

Middlebury,  cotton  factory  at,  148 ; 
marble  quarry  at,  148. 

Middlebury  College,  incorporated, 
155;  graduates  of,  155,  229; 
students  drill  for  Civil  War,  238. 

Middlebury  Female  Seminary,  229. 

Military  campaigns  of  1775,  1776, 
1777,  96. 

Military  road,  surveyed  by  order 
of  Massachusetts,  42 ;  com- 
pleted in  1759,  42;  course  of, 
42  ;  illustration  of,  43. 

Mills,  grist.  53,  55,  58  ;  saw,  58,  59  ; 
fulling,  142;  corn,  at  Windsor, 
146;  carding,  152-153. 

Ministers,  character  of  earlv,  63, 
165. 

Molly  Stark  cannon,  illustration 
of,  106. 

Money,  scarcity  of.  125;  issue  of 
paper,  157-158;  copper,  coined, 
159;  counterfeit,  157. 

Montreal,  visited  by  Cartier,  2 ; 
French  stronghold  in  Canada, 
17;  expeditions  from,  against 
English.  17;  becomes  a  market 
for  settlers,  150,  168,  171. 

Monument  marking  Stark's  camp- 
ing ground,  99. 

Moose,  144,  165. 

Morey,  Samuel,  inventor  of  steam- 
boat, 1 48. 


320 


HISTORY   OF    VERMONT 


Morrill,  Justin  S.,  Senator,  work 
for  education,  230. 

Mortars  and  pestles,  Indian  manu- 
facture of,  8. 

Morton,  Levi  P.,  birthplace  of, 
illustration  of,  219. 

Mountain  ranges,  273. 


Navigation,  sailing  vessels,  149; 
steamers,  148-149;  steamers  on 
the  Connecticut  River,  219-220. 

Navy  yards  on  Lake  Champlain, 

95- 

Newbury  meadows,  22  ;  settlement 
of,  50 ;  fort  at,  during  Revolu- 
tion, 106 ;  project  to  attack,  108 ; 
aqueduct  at,  146;  church  at, 
146;  seminary  at,  268;  illustra- 
tion of  seminary,  facing  page 
230. 

New  Connecticut,  name  first  given 
to  state  of  Vermont,  116. 

New  England,  plan  of  British  cam- 
paign against,  97. 

New  Hampshire,  western  bound- 
ary of,  ill-defined,  67  ;  early  map 
of,  69. 

New  Hampshire  Grants,  contro- 
versy over  jurisdiction  and  land 
titles  of,  67-84;  two  regiments 
furnished  by,  96;  position  of, 
not  revolutionary,  81  ;  organiza- 
tion forced  upon,  by  controversy 
with  New  York,  81-83. 

Newspapers,  first  in  state,  156;  at 
Bennington,  Windsor,  Rutland, 

157- 
New  York,  taken  by  English,  14; 
protest    of    Governor    Clinton, 
67 ;   boundary    of,    declared  by 


king,  68  ;  proclamation  com  ern 
ing  grants,  70;  surveys  disputed 
territory,  72  ;  forbidden  to  make 
further  grants,  73  ;  governors  of, 
disobey  the  order,  73;  court  de- 
bars settlers'  evidence,  75;  at- 
tempts to  execute  writs,  76 ;  met 
by  armed  resistance,  77  ;  com- 
promise effected,  135;  $30,000 
indemnity  paid  to,  135;  extent 
of  land  grants  in  Vermont,  with 
fees,  296. 

Arew  York  Tribune,  244. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  New  York 
officers  imprisoned  at,  88. 

Norwich  University,  230. 

Nulhegan  River,  Indian  route,  18. 

Ogden,  Captain,  companion  of 
Rogers,  31,  ^. 

Order  in  Council,  of  1764,  68;  of 
1 767,  extract  from,  66 ;  effect  of, 
73  ;  ignored  by  New  York,  73. 

Orwell,  salt  spring  at,  146. 

Otter  Creek,  Indian  road  follow- 
ing, 19;  English  scout  posted 
at  the  mouth  of,  24  ;  mentioned 
in  James  Cross's  journal,  40; 
followed  by  Melvin,  41  ;  military 
road  follows,  42;  American 
fleet  burned  at  mouth  of,  96; 
English   attempt  to  enter,   176. 

Palmer,  Governor,  house,  162. 
Paper  money,  in  colonies,  157;  in 

Vermont,     158;      during     Civil 

War,  256. 
Parkman,  historian,  35. 
Passumpsic    Turnpike    Company, 

164. 


INDEX 


32 


Passumpsic  Valley,  settlers  enter, 
166. 

Pastoral  life  from  181 2  to  Civil 
War,  196-210. 

Patterns  of  woven  cloths,  207. 

Pawlet,  educational  society  at,  1 55. 

Peacham,  fort  at,  during  Revolu- 
tion, 106;  academy  at,  268. 

Pearlash,  63;  marketed  in  Que- 
bec, 168,  171. 

Penn,  William,  frame  of  govern- 
ment of,  119,  n. 

Pestles,  stone,  Indian  manufacture 
of,  8. 

Petersburg,  battle  of,  24S ;  siege  of, 
248-249. 

Phelps,  Benajah,  witness  of  battle 
of  Plattsburg  Bay,  179. 

Phelps,  Noah,  spy  at  Ticonder- 
oga,  92. 

Pines  to  be  saved  for  royal  navy, 
35,  146. 

Pingree,  Samuel  E.,  leads  charge 
at  Lee's  Mill,  242. 

Pipes,  Indian,  10. 

Plattsburg,  barracks  destroyed  at, 
175;  American  forces  assemble 
at,  176;  battle  of,  177,  178,  180- 
181 ;  old  print  of,  177. 

Plows,  iron,  introduced,  216. 

Plumping-mill,  55. 

Points,  arrow  and  spear,  8;  illus- 
trations of,  7,  8,  9. 

Politics,  of  early  settlers,  65;  in- 
terplay   of    local    and    federal, 

139- 
Poor  debtors,  125;  legislation  for, 

126. 
Population,     movement    of,    212; 

slight      growth     of,     257;      by 


decades,  299;  by  counties,  300; 
by  towns,  301-304. 

Portland,  market  at,  151. 

Post  offices,  early  establishment 
of,  166;   routes,  166. 

Postage,  rates  of,  how  paid,  166. 

Potash.  See  Ashes,  Asheries, 
Pearlash,  Salts. 

Pots  and  jars,  fragments  of,  10. 

Pottery,  aboriginal,  8,  10  ;  illustra- 
tion of,  9. 

Prehistoric  implements,  illustra- 
tions of,  7,  8,  9. 

Presidential  campaign,  Adams 
versus  Jackson,  235. 

Prices  during  Civil  War,  255. 

Printing,  first  office  established  at 
Westminster,  156;  first  press  in 
America,  illustration  of,  156. 

Quebec,  stronghold  of  French,  17; 
Quebec  bill,  86;  attack  on,  94; 
lumber  trade  to,  149-150;  mar- 
ket for  pearlash  at,  168,  171. 

Rafts  of  lumber,  1 50. 

Railroads,  agitation  for,  220-221; 
incorporation  of,  220;  begin- 
ning of,  220;  effect  of,  on  rural 
communities,  221. 

Red  Sandrock  Mountains,  275. 

Reels,  illustrations  of,  151. 

Religious  condition  of  early  com- 
munities, 63. 

Resourcefulness  of  early  farmers, 
192-194. 

Reward  offered  for  Indians,  34; 
for  Ethan  Allen,  So;  for  Re- 
member Baker,  81. 

Richford,  Indians  visit,  169. 


HISTORY    OF    VERMONT 


Rivers  of  Vermont,  275-276. 

Roads,  early  building  of,  45,  64; 
through  Irasburg,  168;  stage 
roads,  211.  See  also  Military 
road  and  Ilazen  road. 

Robinson,  Rowland,  illustration 
of,  272. 

Rogers,  Robert,  destroys  Indian 
village,  2 1 ,  30-34 ;  extracts  from 
journal  of,  31. 

Round  Island,  Rogers's  party  at,  32. 

Routes,  Indian,  across  Vermont, 
18-19. 

Rouville,  Ilertel  de,  leader  of  raid 
on  Deerfield,  19,  21. 

Royalton,  raid  on,  108,  109. 

Rutland,  early  oil  mill,  brewery, 
and  hat  factory  at,  146;  news- 
paper established  at,  157. 

Ryegate,  38  ;  settledby  Scotch,  165. 

Salts,  147,  165,  168. 

Saranac  River,  177. 

Saratoga,  The,  177. 

Savage's  Station,  battle  of,  242. 

Sawmills,  258,  259. 

Schools,  first  established,  61,  62; 
academies  and  grammar,  previ- 
ous to  1800,  146,  147. 

Schuyler,  General,  opposition  of, 
to  Burgoyne's  advance,  98. 

Scotch,  farming  companies  of,  1 64, 
1 65 ;  settlers  in  Caledonia 
County,  164-165;  character  of, 
,65. 

Scouting  parties,  records  of,  28-29, 
34  ;  service  of,  35-37. 

Season  of  1816,  failure  of  crops, 
197-199. 

Senators  in  Congress,  298. 


Settlement  of  new  land,  147;  of 
northern  Vermont  after  the 
Revolution,  164. 

Settlements,  extent  of,  in  1 760,  46 ; 
conditions  of  life  in,  51-65;  ex- 
tent of,  in  1777,  106. 

Settlers,  attitude  of,  toward  New 
York,  71,  72,  75;  titles  of,  ques- 
tioned, 71  ;  menaced  by  Bur- 
goyne's invasion,  108-109;  treat- 
ment of  Tories,  109. 

Sheep  raising,  213-215. 

Skenesboro,  95,  98;  capture  of 
American  galleys  near,  99. 

Slate  quarrying,  224. 

Slavery,  effect  of,  on  cotton  in- 
dustry, 1 54 ;  growth  of,  becomes 
national  issue,  231-232. 

Smuggling,  181-191  ;  cause  of,  182, 
183;  effect  of  embargo  on,  182- 
183. 

Social,  conditions  in  early  settle- 
ments, 51-65;  disturbances  fol- 
lowing Revolution,  123-126. 

Society,  democracy  of,  in  early 
period,  51  ;  communal  organiza- 
tion of,  58. 

Soldiers'  Home,  251. 

Sorel  River,  169. 

Spades,  flint  and  homstone,  10. 

Spanish  money  in  Vermont,  158. 

Spanish  War,  270-271. 

Spaulding,  Lieutenant,  alleged 
treason  of,  imprisonment  and 
release  of,  86. 

Spinning,  wheel,  illustration  of, 
152;  jennies,  154;  women's 
work,  206. 

Spooler's  Vermont  Journal,  184. 

Spottsylvania,  battle  of,  248. 


INDEX 


323 


St  Albans,  reply  of,  to  Jefferson, 

185  ;   raid  on,  254. 
St.  Anne,  French  fort  at,  23. 
St.    Armand,    English    force    cap- 
tured at,  175. 
St.  Clair,  plans   of,  98;  march  to 

Castleton,  99. 
St.  Francis  Indians,  5  ;  destruction 

of,  by  Rogers,  30-33. 
St.  Francis  River,  Indian  route  on, 

18. 
St.  John's,  sloop  captured  at,  93 ; 

navy  yard  at,  95. 
St.  Johnsbury,  market  for  northern 

towns,  167. 
St.  Regis,  smuggling  to,  191. 
Stanstead,  smuggled  goods  bought 

at,  187;  party  from,  sets  fire  to 

Derby,  187. 
Stark,  John,  captured  by  Indians, 

2j  ;  cuts  out  military  road,  42  ; 

portrait  of,  100  ;  career  of,  102  ; 

tactics  of,  at  Bennington,   102  ; 

military  services  of,  105;  promo- 
tion of,  105. 
State  house  at  Montpelier,  163. 
State  prison,  186. 
Steam    navigation,    14S;     Samuel 

Morey's  invention,  148;   Fulton, 

14S;  on  Lake  Champlain,  183. 
Stewart,  P.  P.,  inventor,  225. 
Stuyvesant,  Peter,  surrenders  New 

Amsterdam,  14. 
Sugar  making,  Indian  mode  of,  36  ; 

early  settlers'  mode  of,  200,  201  ; 

old  utensils  of,  illustrated,  200. 
Sunday  old-time  services,  203-204  ; 

music  at.  203-204. 
Superior,  Lake,  copper  from,  used 

by  Indians,  10. 


Superintendent  of  education,  of- 
fice created,  228;  general  super- 
vision exercised  by,  265  ;  circu- 
lars of  educational  information, 
265. 

Surveyors  sent  to  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants  from  New  York. 
I2- 

Swanton,  Indian  relics  of,  6 ;  an- 
cient burial  ground  near,  6 ;  In- 
dian village  near,  8. 

Swifts,  illustration  of,  153. 

Swine  pastured  in  woods,  58. 

Taconic  Mountains,  274. 

Tanneries  in  1810,  142. 

Tariff  of  1828,  effect  of,  on  wool 

growing,  214. 
Tavern,  typical  old,  illustration  of, 

64  ;  old  turnpike,  illustration  of. 

211. 
Taxes,  worked  out,  paid  in  kind. 

53- 

Teachers,  in  first  schools,  62  ;  first 
school  for  training  of,  155;  asso- 
ciation of,  organized,  229  ;  insti- 
tutes held  for,  265. 

Ten  Eyck,  sheriff,  repelled  at 
Breakenridge's  farm,  77. 

Ticonderoga,  evacuation  of,  by 
French,  29  ;  captured  by  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  91-93;  results 
of  capture  of,  94  ;  threatened  by 
Carleton,  96 ;  recaptured  by 
Burgoyne,  98. 

Titles  annulled  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  71. 

Tolls,  53,  56;  tollgate,  146. 

Topics  for  research  and  review, 
282-285. 


3^4 


HISTORY   OF    VERMONT 


Tories,  raids  of,    108-109;    treat- 
ment of,  109. 
Towns,   decline   of  hill,  211 ;    list 

of,  with  population,  301-304. 
Tracy,  M.  de,  builds  forts,  22-23. 
Transition,    periods    of,    196;    at 

middle  of  last  century,  210-21 1. 
Transportation,  in  colonial  epoch, 

141;    by  canal,  217;    effects  of 

railroads  on,  221. 
Trees,  35. 

Trial  at  Albany,  75. 
Troy,  N.Y.,  markets  at,  144,  145. 
Troy,    Vt.,  visited  by  Indians  in 

1799,  168. 
Turnpikes,  162-163;    Passumpsic 

Turnpike  Company,  164. 

Underhill,  skirmish  with  smugglers 

at,  189. 
Unions,  East  and  West,  127-130, 

134,  137- 
University     of     Vermont,    incor- 
porated in    1 79 1,    155;    during 
War   of    181 2,    155;    graduates 
of,   155,  229-230,   238. 

Valleys,  settled  later  than  hills, 
211. 

Vermont,  discovery  of,  events  con- 
temporaneous with,  2;  traversed 
by  Indian  war  parties,  1 5  ;  coun- 
ties of,  under  New  York,  74 ; 
participation  of,  in  Revolution, 
90-1 10 ;  advantage  to,  from  Rev- 
olution, 109-111,  114;  declares 
her  independence,  1 1 1 ,  115,  1 17— 
119;  self-government  of,  112; 
constitutional  conventions  of, 
1 1 3- 1 1 7,  1 1911.;  an  independent 


republic,  120-139;  internal  con- 
ditions from  1777  to  1 791,  120- 
126;  flag  of,  illustration  of,  121; 
life  in,  during  Revolution,  121- 
122  ;  union  with  New  Hampshire 
towns,  127  ;  controversy  of,  with 
New  Hampshire,  127-130;  ne- 
gotiations with  the  British,  130- 

133,  137  ;  East  and  West  unions 
dissolved,    134;    admission    of, 

134,  135;  settles  New  York 
claim,  135;  latitude,  longitude, 
length,  width,  area,  273. 

Vermont  Gazette,  125,  156. 
Versatility   of    early   settlers,    52, 
192-194. 

Walloomsac  Valley,  47. 

Warm,  Captain  de,  builds  fort  at 
Chimney  Point,  24. 

Warner,  Seth,  92  ;  captures  Crown 
Point,  93 ;  commander  of  regi- 
ment, 94 ;  service  of,  in  Canada, 
94 ;  commands  rear  guard  at 
Ilubbardton,  99;  service  of,  at 
Bennington,  102,  104. 

War  of  181 2,  1 72-191  ;  situation 
of  northern  Vermont  in,  173- 
174;  preparation  for,  in  Cham- 
plain  Valley,  174;  national  re- 
verses, 1 74  ;  first  naval  action  on 
Lake  Champlain,  175;  compari- 
son of  English  and  American 
fleets,  181  ;  retreat  of  British 
from  Plattsburg,  181. 

Washington,  D.C.,  fighting  in  vicin- 
ity of,  by  Vermont  troops,  240. 

Washington,  George,  letter  from, 
on  conditions  in  Vermont,  133. 

Water  courses,  utility  of,  43. 


INDEX 


325 


Weaving,  at  home,  151  ;  women's 
work,  206;  professional  weav- 
ers,  207. 

Wentworth,  Governor  Benning, 
66 ;  illustration  of,  67 ;  grants 
made  by,  47,  67,  68,  70. 

Westminster,  assembly  at,  88 ; 
constitutional  conventions  at, 
114,  115;  printing  office  at, 
156. 

"  Westminster  Massacre,"  84-89. 

Westward  movement,  256. 

Weybridge,  raid  on,  108. 

Wheat,  raising,  145;  market  at 
New  York  for,  145;  market  at 
Montreal  for,  151. 

Whisky  distilleries  in  1S10,  141. 

Whitcomb,  Lieutenant,  108. 


Whitelaw,  General,  letter  of,  38. 

Whitney,  Eli,  153. 

Wilderness,  battle  of,  248. 

Williams,  Dr.,  of  Rutland,  156. 

Windsor,  constitutional  conven- 
tions at,  1 1 6-1 17;  corn  mill  at, 
146;  early  newspaper  at,  157. 

Winooski  River,  Indian  route,  19; 
smugglers  in  the,  186. 

Witherspoon,  Rev.  John,  sells  land 
in  Ryegate,  165. 

Women,  status  of,  in  early  com- 
munities, 60-61. 

Wool,  151;  carding  of,  152;  in 
1810,  153;  cards,  illustrations 
of,  150,  207;  prices  of,  214. 

Wooster,  commander  of  American 
army  in  Canada,  94. 


THE  BEGINNER'S  AMERICAN  HISTORY 

By  D.  IT.  MONTGOMERY, 

Author  of  the  "Leading  Facts  of  History  Series." 


Cloth.     231  pages.     Fully  illustrated.     For  introduction,  60  cents. 
Edition  of  1899,  including  the  Spanish  War, 


The  author  is  Mr.  Montgomery,  the  eminent  and  successful 
writer  of  historical  text-books,  whose  books  have  stood  the  test  of 
everyday  use  in  thousands  of  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

This  book  is  in  no  sense  an  abridgment  of  the  author's 
"American  History,"  but  is  entirely  new  and  distinct,  and 
arranged  on  a  very  different  plan. 

All  the  main  points  are  covered  by  interesting  biographies. 
It  is  almost  purely  biographical,  but  care  has  been  taken  to  make 
the  stories  cover,  either  directly  or  incidentally,  all  the  main 
points  of  the  history  of  our  country.  It  comprises  thirty  biog- 
raphies, all  in  the  compass  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  pages, 
followed  by  a  list  of  reference  books  for  teachers  and  a  very  full 
index.  This  makes  prominent  the  biographical  idea,  and  the 
principal  history  makers  stand  out  prominently  before  the  eye. 

The  special  aim  of  the  book  is  to  present  those  facts  and 
principles  in  the  lives  of  some  of  the  great  men  of  American 
history  which  will  be  of  interest  and  value  to  boys  and  girls 
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incidents  and  anecdotes  as  are  believed  to  rest  on  authorities 
beyond  question. 

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true  patriotism. 


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Blaisdell's  Books  on  History 

By   ALBERT   F.   BLAISDFXL 

Stories  from  English  History 

nmo.  Cloth.  191  pages.  Illustrated.  List  price,  40  cents  ;  mailing  price, 
50  cents. 

This  is  a  supplementary  reader  consisting  of  about  forty  of  the 
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earliest  times  to  the  present  day.  carefully  edited  and  rewritten 
from  standard  writers.  The  material  has  been  arranged  in  the 
form  of  stories,  with  the  intent  to  arouse  a  lively  interest  in  his- 
torical reading  and  a  keen  desire  to  know  more  about  the  history 
of  our  mother  country. 

The  Story  of  American  History 

i2mo.  Cloth.  440  pages.  Illustrated.  List  price,  60  cents  ;  mailing  price, 
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This  book  is  intended  to  be  preliminary  to  the  study  of  a  more 
advanced  work  in  the  higher  grammar  grades.  Only  the  leading 
events  of  certain  periods  and  the  personal  achievements  of  a  few 
representative  "  makers  of  our  country  "  are  treated  in  any  detail. 
Some  prominence  is  given  to  exceptional  deeds  of  valor,  details  of 
everyday  living  in  olden  times,  dramatic  episodes,  and  important 
incidents. 

Hero  Stories  from  American 
History 

For  Elementary  Schools.  By  Albert  F.  Blaisdell,  and  Francis  K.  Ball,  Instruc- 
tor in  Phillips  Exeter  Academy.  i2mo.  Cloth.  xii  + 259  pages.  Illustrated. 
List  price,  ;  mailing  price, 

This  book  may  be  used  either  as  a  supplementary  reader  in 
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book of  a  somewhat  higher  grade.  The  following  are  among  the 
subjects  treated  :  The  Hero  of  Vincennes  ;  A  Midwinter  Cam- 
paign; The  Patriot  Spy;  Our  Greatest  Patriot;  A  Midnight  Sur- 
prise ;  The  Defeat  of  the  Red  Dragoons;  From  Teamster  to  Major 
General;  A  Daring  Exploit;  "  Old  Ironsides  "  ;  A  Hero's  Welcome. 

The  book  contains  many  pictures,  most  of  which  are  the  work 
of  artists  who  make  a  specialty  of  historical  illustration. 


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reading  Books  on  American  History 


FOR  SUPPLEMENTARY  USE  IN  SCHOOLS. 


By   NINA    MOORE    TIFFANY. 

Pilgrims  and  Puritans.  The  Story  of  the  Planting  of  Plymouth  and 
Boston.  Sq.  i6mo.  Cloth.  197  pages.  Illustrated.  For  intro- 
duction, 60  cents. 

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Days  in  Boston.  Sq.  i6mo.  Cloth.  180  pages.  Illustrated. 
For  introduction,  60  cents. 

"Pilgrims  and  Puritans"  is  a  book  of  easy  reading,  contain- 
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Indians,  the  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth,  English  Boston,  William 
Blackstone,  John  Winthrop,  Extracts  from  Wood's  New  Eng- 
land's Prospects  ;  with  notes  and  appendix. 

It  is  intended  for  children  who  have  not  yet  begun  or  are  just 
beginning  the  study  of  United  States  history,  and  to  supplement 
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Geo.  H .  Martin,  Supervisor  of  Schools, 
Boston :  I  am  delighted  to  find  a  child's 
book  of  history  both  accurate  and  interest- 
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style.  I  consider  it  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able books  of  its  class. 


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ume, designed  to  be  a  kind  of  first  lessons 
in  American  history  for  young  readers,  is 
admirably  suited  to  its  purpose. 

Evening  Post,  New  York:  Miss  Nina 
Moore  has,  with  no  little  dexterity,  told  in 
an  attractive  way,  easily  intelligible  to 
children,  "the  story  of  the  planting  of 
Plymouth  and  Boston."  She  has  drawn 
textually  more  or  less  upon  the  original 
authorities,  and  by  means  of  plenty  of 
maps,  portraits,  and  views,  has  made  the 
narrative  impressive  at  every  stage. 


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